Setting Outline For the Setting Outline, choose as many options as you want. (If there’s an option you want that’s not included, you can add it – it’s your game after all.) You don’t need to work out the details, just get enough to get started. You will expand on this as you play, and leaving gaps allows room for the new and unexpected to appear in your game. (If you’re playing in a known setting, you can skip this step.) 1. How do you travel the space lanes? ☐ Through the jumpgate/wormhole network ☐ You need special drives to use it ☐ It's ancient and... ☐ We've only just got access to it - ☐ It's only partially explored - ☐ It's breaking down ☐ It’s controlled by… ☐ A Megacorp - ☐ The Military - ☐ The Alliance/Federation - ☐ The Empire - ☐ The Republic - ☐ Another race ☐ It’s open to everyone ☐ More gates/wormholes are slowly being built ☐ By jumping into hyperspace, and... ☐ It's weird in there ☐ You’re in nothingness till you leave it ☐ Reappear almost instantaneously at your destination ☐ Sometimes ships get lost ☐ Through normal space using FTL drives ☐ Almost everyone has one ☐ They’re expensive ☐ You can only get them through… ☐ The Megacorp - ☐ Official channels - ☐ The Military - ☐ Another race ☐ By riding the high speed Expressways ☐ By taking passage on… ☐ Commercial liners ☐ Free traders ☐ Megacorp vessels ☐ Military ships ☐ Research ships ☐ Any ship tough enough to survive ☐ Alien ships - ☐ For an exorbitant fee - ☐ If/when they let us ☐ Through transfer portals on the major worlds ☐ It’s all sub-lightspeed travel between local worlds ☑ All of the above in various parts of the galaxy 2. How good are your star charts? ☐ The galaxy was mapped long ago ☐ But it has changed, due to… ☐ The time that has passed - ☐ The Cataclysm - ☐ The GalacticWar(s) - ☐ We don’t know what ☑ We've mapped it out this far, but… ☐ It's new territory from here on ☑ Our maps are… ☑ Unreliable - ☑ Incomplete ☐ We have just one cluster of systems/planets ☐ We don’t have any maps, we’ve never been here before 3. Who else is out here? ☐ It looks like we're the only intelligent life ☐ But there are rumours ☐ We've met another spacefaring race, that are... ☐ A lot like us ☐ Alien ☐ Cooperative ☐ Incomprehensible ☐ Opening up new vistas of trade and technology ☐ Blocking us from exploring further ☐ Using us as slaves/food/guinea pigs ☐ Infiltrating our society and corrupting our leaders ☐ Territorial and aggressive ☐ At war with another race ☐ Our worst nightmare ☑ The galaxy is full of advanced civilisations ☑ All mixed up together ☑ Each in their own distinct region ☑ Constantly vying for… ☑ Power - ☑ Resources - ☑ Territory ☑ But only a few dominate ☐ And we're the newcomers ☐ There are other races but… ☐ Few have made it into space ☐ We’ve yet to meet them ☐ We’ve stayed well out of their way ☐ They ignore us 4. Who rules this part of the galaxy? ☐ Every system, every planet does it differently ☑ It's Frontier Law out here ☐ We’re part of a major Empire/Alliance ☐ And our influence is growing - ☐ Or so we think ☐ We've got our territory, the Aliens have theirs ☐ This region is controlled by ☐ The AIs ☐ The Aliens ☐ The Alliance/Federation ☐ Cartels and Pirates ☐ The Empire ☐ The Megacorps ☐ The Military ☐ The Rebels ☐ The Republic ☐ But only… ☐ Around the major systems -☐ Along the major space lanes ☑ However… ☑ There are worrying rumours ☐ The following are flexing their muscle - ☐ The AIs - ☐ The Aliens - ☐ The Alliance/Federation - ☐ The Cartels - ☐ The Colonies - ☐ The Empire - ☐ The Megacorps - ☐ The Military - ☐ The Rebels - ☐ The Republic - ☐ The Pirates - ☐ The Telepaths - ☐ A powerful mad man ☐ And… - ☐ It’s nothing to worry about - ☐ They’re getting closer - ☐ We're losing ground fast 5. What are the major types of tech here? Identify technologies that are: Dominant in your setting Noticeably absent from your game (they can exist elsewhere in the setting) You don’t have to make a decision on every technology, just the key ones that define your setting. (E.g. in the Firefly TV series, projectile weapons and spaceships dominate, while energy weapons and starships are noticeably absent). You can build on this list as you play. Technology Dominant Absent Alternative tech Artificial Intelligence But not every robot Bio tech Energy weapons yes Field/shield tech yes FTL (realspace) drives yes FTL comms but low bandwith Grav tech yes Holo tech yes Hyperspace drives yes Info/Media tech local to systems Life transfer tech experimental Matter transfer experimental Med tech yes Nano tech Projectile weapons yes Psi tech Sensor tech Starships 6. What key abilities are absent or restricted here? Identify any important restrictions on key skills or abilities in your setting. As with technology, you don’t have to identify every restricted activity or ability, only the key ones that define your setting. You can add to or modify this list later, as your game develops. Ability/Skill Restriction Absent Consciousness transfer yes Create AIs Legal Heal injuries Navigate hyperspace Training + maps Pilot starships Training + Legal Psionics Innate Repair tech Smart-tech interface Zero-G proficiency