Culture: There are three main cultures in the North America of 2150 - the Neobedouin, the Neovictorians and the Skyfolk. No doubt there are other cultures hidden away in remote places, and there are, of course, countless other cultures in other continents and time periods (seriously, go nuts with this, I encourage you. There's a whole world to work with! If you think of one you'd like actually used in the game, PM the Admin with your pitch!) but these are the three from which characters come in the Airship Pirates RP. There are also a couple of 'subcultures' both of which arise within Neovictorian society - the Automata and the Misbegotten (or mutants).
NEOBEDOUIN: The Neobedouin are a nomadic tribal people. They live in huge brightly decorated caravans, often two or three stories tall, pulled by giant diesel semi-cabs, steam-trucks and massive beasts such as mammoths and indrikki. They also ride home-made off-road vehicles, horses and camelops.They are a freedom-loving people, determined to stay out of the claustrophobic Imperial cities and prepared to face the dangers of the wilderness to do so. Each tribe has a "range" which they consider home, covering thousands of square miles. Groups will often split off from this range and travel across country into the territories of the other tribes, for trade, and to keep the social links between the different tribes from dying. Though each tribe has its own customs, they have certain things in common; a love of fire, music, dance and storytelling: strong family bonds; a martial art known as Beast Dancing; and an intense dislike of the Emperor Victor III and his repressive regime. They are masters of wilderness lore and consummate hunters, in tune with the land through which they wander. Many have contacts with the sky cities, trading with each other for things they need - often food and natural resources from the Neobedouin are traded with finished technological goods and medicines from the Skyloft. A few Neobedouin risk remaining in one place in hidden settlements - these may be involved in logging, farming, drilling for oil or engaged in other trades that are useful to their people but not possible with a nomadic lifestyle. The wanderings of a tribe will usually bring them back to these places at least once a year, which gives them an excuse (as if they really need one!) for a big festival.
Motivations: There are a number of reasons a Neobedouin may become an airship pirate; perhaps your family or tribe has been wiped out by the Imperial Air Navy and you want revenge; maybe you once traveled on a Skyloft airship and fell in love with the freedom of the air; maybe you have been cast out of your tribe (perhaps unjustly) for some transgression such as murder.
Suitable Backgrounds: Artist, Beast Dancer, Gadgeteer, Hunter, Musician, Outrider, Shaman, Showman/woman, Trader
Typical Names: Neobedouin tend to have a mixture of modern US names and the names of animals (particularly for men) and plants (particularly for women) often together. Male first names include Aaron, Bear, Condor, Cougar, Coyote, David, Eagle, Jackal, John, James, Peter, Sabre-tooth, Stephen, William. Female first names include Abigail, Acacia, Bryony, Diana, Hazel, Iris, Ivy, Lily, Maura, Primrose, Rebecca.
A Neobedouin's last name will generally be the name of his or her tribe; as such they will only be used with interacting with other tribes, such as when visiting a sky city or Helium City. Tribes tend to be called after an area in which they range, but may also be an animal or plant they particularly revere: Dakota, Eagles, Hudson, Mississippi, Prairie, Redwood, Sequoya, Washington.
NEOVICTORIANS: Neovictorians live in the squalid, overcrowded Change Cage cities ruled by the Emperor Victor III. This oppressive environment is all they have ever known, and they are taught from birth that beyond the city walls lies an implacably hostile wilderness, where survival for a human being can be measured in days at best due to the ferocious man-eating beasts which prowl outside. There are three major Neovictorian cities in North America - Old Borealis in the cold north of the continent, Desolation in the southwestern deserts and Everglade in the subtropical south-eastern swamps. In Neovictorian society conformity is everything. Any new idea is disapproved of by the government, or any person showing signs of rebelling against the status quo, is thrown into the Change Cage, a massive towering edifice at the center of the city, from which escape is said to be impossible. The lower classes are expected to return to their home "block" at night, and the streets are patrolled by the automaton "Peelers", ruthless mechanical policemen on the lookout for anyone breaking the curfew.
How a person lives in such a city will very much depend on their class.
There are three classes in Neovictorian society - the Lower Class, the Servant Class and the Upper Class.
LOWER CLASS
If you are unfortunate enough to be born into the lower class (and the vast majority are) your lot will be to live in the squalid, overcrowded slums, toil long hours in a bleak factory and maybe spend your meager earnings on gin to lighten your thankless, futile life.
Why would a lower class Neovictorian become an airship pirate? Why not? There's really not much joy to be had in the slums. How you would get out is a different matter - but the ultimate punishment for many deeds (not including "change crimes" is to be banished outside the city walls. If you survive the wild beasts long enough, you may well be rescued and taken in by the Neobedouins or Skyfolk, and after that, well, everyone has to make a living.
Suitable backgrounds: Agitator, Criminal, Factory Worker, Gadgeteer, Inventor, Prostitute
Typical Names: Old Victorian first names are fashionable in the Neovictorian cities. Typical men's names include Alan, Augustus, Edwin, Frederick, Lewis, Morris, Nathaniel, Raymond, Thaddeus, Victor, Wilfred. Typical women's names include Ada, Amelia, Emma, Ethel, Isabella, Katherine, Lottie, Mildred, Nora, Victoria, Wilhelmina. Last names could be any typical modern name. Just open a phone book!
SERVANT CLASS
Due to the Emperor Victor III's population control policies, families are only allowed to have two children - further offspring are taken away at birth to be brought up in the workhouse, where they are trained as the servant class. Women will become servants to the upper classes, cooking and cleaning, serving tables, etc. Most men will become sailors in the Imperial Air Navy (IAN), the only Neovictorians ever allowed outside the city walls, and sworn to secrecy about what is really out there on pain of death (A few men may become butlers or manservants, but serving the rich is mostly women's work). The servant class are taught to look down on the lower class and cherish their "privileges".
Why would a servant class Neovictorian become an airship pirate? If you're a man, chances are you worked as crew on an IAN ship and
seen what the world is REALLY like. Since you have the skills, better the free life of a pirate than the harsh discipline of being a sailor in the Imperial Air Navy. Wait until your vessel calls in at a sky city for resupply and jump ship. If you're a woman of the servant class you have less freedom but, living in an upper class household, you have heard the rumors of the Free People who live beyond the walls. Maybe you stow away on an IAN ship with the help of a friendly sailor, run away with an upper class lover, or just climb over the wall one night with a stolen shotgun and a bagful of attitude.
Suitable Backgrounds: Agitator, Air Marine, Air Sailor, Chuno Ggun, Criminal, Gadgeteer, Inventor, Prostitute, Servant.
Typical Names: As Lower Class above
UPPER CLASS
The Upper Classes are the nobles who run the cities, having been granted areas of the city to rule on behalf of the Emperor. They own the factories from which they get their income, and live in huge mansions set in extensive parkland, walled off from the slums. They are often unaware of the depths of squalor in which the lower classes live, being entirely cut off from any contact with them. The men tend to be college-educated, while the women will be lucky to have been to a girl's academy to learn needlework, household management and deportment. Upper class women are expected to do little except look decorative and produce an heir for their husband. Life is often little more than a round of balls and soirees, which many see, despite their wealth and privilege as a "gilded cage'.
It's a life of luxury in the upper class, but there's more to life than luxury. Maybe you're an IAN officer who's been dismissed for one reason or another, or perhaps you saw the way the Free Peoples are living and decided that's the life for you. Or maybe you spend your days wandering your father's extensive estates in a state of terminal boredom. The smugglers who bring you occasional contraband meat supplies know ways in and out of the place that the Peelers haven't found. - Maybe it's time to escape.
Suitable Backgrounds: Academic, Administrator, Agitator, Air Navy Officer, Artist, Chuno Ggun, Clergyman, Criminal, Dilettante, Doctor, Inventor, Marine Commander, Vigilante, Writer.
Typical Names: First names tend to be similar to Neovictorian lower class names, though with an emphasis on names with many syllables (Wilhelmina is much more popular than Ada!). Last names tend to be double-barreled, proclaiming advantageous marriage alliances in the past (not to mention the degree of inbreeding within the aristocracy!) Examples include: Heatherington-Portnoy, Pine-Coffin, Rathbone-Duane.
AUTOMATON: Built in the factories of the Neovictorian cities, Automata are by definition below even the lower class. More or less humanoid robots of brass and wood (sometimes overlaid with realistic pseudo-skin), their clockworks are animated by the vat-grown "motivating essence" that flows within their gutta-percha veins. There are numerous models: Autocrats, who specialize in record-keeping and can memorize and collate huge numbers of facts; Drones, who work in the parts of a factory too dangerous for humans; Dolls who provide companionship and sexual favors for the upper classes; Gangers, who specialize in loading heavy cargo on the Neovictorian docks' Peelers of the Imperial Constubulary, who patrol the streets and enforce the law; and Servitors who act as servants for the upper classes (there are other types, such as non-humanoid automaton cabs, cargo carriers, worm-like sewer cleaners and the like, but those listed are suitable as PCs). Herr Wilhelm Drosselmeyer, who created the first Automota, wrought better than he knew; the biologically-grown motivating essence has imbued the Automata with self-awareness. While most Automata pretend a robot-like servility because they will be put into a Change Cage if they show any signs of exceeding their design parameters, some few "go rogue" and escape the Neovictorian cities for a life of freedom. The Neovictorians put this down to malfunctions or bad programming, little realizing that ALL Automata have the capacity to revolt. Note that, within all Neovictorian cities, and in some Skyloft cities, Automata are considered machines rather than people. They have no rights. Other Skyloft cities and all Neobedouin tribes recognize them as people with all the rights and responsibilities which go with that recognition.
Motivation: All your short life, you've taken orders, followed by the same routines day after day, but something has changed and now you've had enough. Maybe it was an act of cruelty on the part of a human, or maybe an act of kindness when a human recognized you as a person and not a machine. Whatever triggered your revolt, you are determined to live free. You have somehow escaped your home city and will never go back - as long as you're earning enough to pay for repairs and the occasional oil change, you'll be fine.
Note about Combat: As Automata are mechanical, they are more resilient to damage than humans. For the same reason they cannot recover from damage naturally. Doing so requires a repair skill, not a healing skill.
Suitable Backgrounds: Agitator, Autocrat, Criminal, Factory Worker (Drone), Ganger, Peeler, Prostitute (Doll), Servant (Servitor).
Typical Names: Automatons have a first name similar to those mentioend for the Lower Class Neovictorians, followed by a number. Ada-22, Morris-8, and so on. Automatons who have escaped the Neovictorian cities will sometimes make their names more exotic by translating their number into a foreign language. Ada Vingt-deux, Morris Acht, and so on.
Talents: Certain Automatons come with special talents according to their purpose. They can add more with modifications, but here are the Automata 'class' abilities for a starting character.
Autocrat: Eidetic Memory
Doll: Rock Your World 2
Ganger: Ham-fisted
Peeler: Night Vision. built-in gun in their right arm, which is revealed when their hand folds down out of the way of the barrel. it is identical to a needlepistol.
THE MISBEGOTTEN: Around the factories of the Neovictorian cities are vast pools and storage ponds of noxious chemicals which the Emperor Victor III won't let out of the cities to pollute the "pristine" wilderness. These toxins have seeped into the groundwater over the years, causing mutations in the children of the lower (and occasionally upper) classes. These Misbegotten (as they are officially known by the Imperial government) have one or more mutations, ranging from the purely cosmetic (no chin, purple skin) to actively useful (armored skin, claws). The government tries to classify these Misbegotten into a limited number of specific types and isolate them in their own blocks within the city in order to prevent interbreeding and the possibility of human evolution; there they are treated as little better than Automata and denied most of the few rights that the lower classes "enjoy". They are sterilized at puberty to prevent them from passing on their characteristics and most are never allowed out of their home blocks, being provided menial work in their own homes, such as making pins, sewing mail bags, etc. Theirs is indeed a joyless existence. A "lucky" few who have serious combat abilities due to their mutations are recruited into the Chuno Ggun where they are used as "terror troops" against escaping rebels and Neobedouin settlements.
Misbegotten can also find work in brothels, as there is a certain shall we say "market" for those whose tastes lean towards the truly exotic.
Motivation: Almost anything is better than the life of a Misbegotten in a Neovictorian city, but escaping from your block is going to be a major undertaking as you know little of the world outside the few streets you call home, and your inability to blend in with normal humans makes sneaking out very difficult. Only the most strong-willed make it to the outside world, and once there you find prejudice is still rife, due to your odd appearance. Some will come to accept you for who you are rather than what you look like, and pirates are more tolerant of life's misfits than most. If you were a member of the Chuno Ggun, it's much easier to turn renegade, but you know your old organization will not rest until it has hunted you down.
Suitable Backgrounds: Agitator, Chuno Ggun, Criminal, Factory Worker, Prostitute.
Typical Names: Misbegotten often have what seems to be insulting nicknames attached to their normal name. But those who have escaped from the Change Cage cities wear these as a badge of pride, as though challenging anyone to find a problem with their mutations. Such names might include Blue Anka, Fish-Eyed Betty, Lurching Rupert, Scaly Joe, etc.
Talents: All Misbegotten have the Distinctive Features complication. Choose one of the following or make up something similar. No chin, unusual color of skin (purple, blue, red, etc), extra fingers and toes, no eyelids, a tail (furry or naked) If you have the Mutation talent, your Distinctive Feature will be related to that talent.
Chuno Ggun: Misbegotten with the Armor or Claws Mutation may have been chosen as warriors for the Chuno Ggun. Those who have escaped to live free as a pirate gain the Enemy complication and will always be targeted for death by the Chuno Ggun.
SKYFOLK: In the sky above North America and built around remote mountaintops are the cities collectively known as the Skyloft. Most are suspended beneath great clusters of helium gasbags, some floating freely, others tethered to mountain peaks but able to cut themselves loose in an emergency; others have extended down from their sky-living ways to colonize the tops of mountains, high above the dangerous beasts of the lowlands. The Skyfolk are as varied as the cities in which they live, for no two cities have the same form of government, the same ideals, the same beliefs. Some sky cities are capitalist, some communist, some socialist; There are matriarchies, slave cities and cities of escaped slaves; Democracies, autocracies and technocracies; cities that worship God, Allah or the Sky Mother; atheist cities that burn believers at the stake. Yet whatever their religious and political beliefs, they share a common interest in technological progress. Many Skyfolk are knowledgeable on scientific subjects, and children are encouraged to tinker, build and innovate from an early age. Strange gadgets and unlikely-looking flying machines are a feature of the sky cities. The various sky cities also have an alliance against the Emperor Victor III, who would destroy them if he could. The Skyfolk grow up in the high air, immune to vertigo, at home in airships and flying machines from an early age. Whatever their beliefs, and no matter how much they disapprove of the beliefs of the other sky cities, they tend to respect their differences and save their enmity for the Empire, which would have all live in Neovictorian squalor. The sky cities trade with each other and with their ground-bound allies the Neobedouin.
Motivation: You have grown up in the freedom of the high airs. But there's more to life than the closed-in culture of your own sky city, and you want to see them all. Maybe the city you grew up in has laws or customs of which you disapprove, or which you found oppressive. Maybe you just loved the romantic ideal of the pirate life, having grown up on Tales of the Airship PIrates and other such penny dreadfuls. Maybe you want to free the Neovictorians from their oppressive regime. With your undoubted skills in the sky, you'll always be welcome aboard an airship.
Suitable Backgrounds: Academic, Administrator, Air Marine, Air Sailor, Air Navy Officer, Artist, Criminal, Delettante, Doctor, Gadgeteer, Inventor, Marine Commander, Mercenary, Musician, Pirate/Privateer, Prostitute, Trader, Showman/woman, Writer
Typical Names: Skyfolk tend to have modern US names followed by surnames associated with the sky - clouds, birds, weather, etc. Last names might include Cumulus, Empyrean, Nimbus, Snow, Goose, Sirocco, Storm, Zephyr.
OTHER FACTIONS
There are two other factions in the game. Bargefolk and the Chuno Ggun. We will now cover them both here.
THE BARGEFOLK: The Bargefolk work and live along the canals which connect the Change Cage cities to each other (and to small mining and lumber settlements along the way. There are thousands of these barges in the waters. They are slow moving and cargo is often "leapfrogged" so that each boat restricts itself to one relatively small section of canal.
The Bargefolk live in family groups, each family working their own barge. The barges are allowed into purpose-built docks, at the edge of each Change Cage city, where cargoes are unloaded by Automata. The Bargefolk are prohibited from setting foot on land in the city, for fear they would communicate what is really going on outside to the masses.
Despite these regulations, the Bargefolk are responsible for bringing most of the smuggled goods into the Change Cage cities. Most of this illicit cargo is meat purchased from the Neobedouins, but various other items can be ordered if the buyer has the funds. The Autocrats and Peelers are impeded from preventing these breaches of the law, their administrators often keen to get a share of the forbidden luxuries for themselves. Aside from their usual legal and illegal cargoes, sometimes barges are used to set down supplies near to Chuno Ggun bases. The Bargefolk know better than to ask or comment on these special "Drop offs".
The canal barges are often heavily armored, bristling with power-generation windmills, and usually have one steamcannon turret. Despite these defenses the barges are the most common prey of many pirates and vulnerable to predators and the more hostile Neobedouin tribes. It is a tough life, and it has bred a tough people. The small crew size means they are often simply overwhelmed if attacked. Despite the dangers, most Bargefolk wouldn't trade their lives for anything. They are practically Free People and make a healthy profit from their underground commercial transactions. They tend to be looked after in their old age by their family, and their wealth allows them to get whatever luxuries and medicines they require from the Skyfolk (often via Neobedouin couriers).
THE CHUNO GGUN: The Chuno Ggun are Emperor Victor's ruthless operatives. They have three main tasks - to hunt together in the black frigates (large sleek airships, over the sides of which are hung Battle Automata and whose decks are filled with highly trained Chuno Ggun warriors); to hunt, singly or in small cells, stalking and killing renegades and escapees; and serving in the elite, personal guard, charged with protecting the Emperor's palace and person. There are less of them now than in the early days, and they have fallen out of the public eye, but at one time, before the Peelers, they policed the Change Cage cities (or at least those areas in which the workers lived) ruthlessly.
Chuno Ggun are fanatically loyal to the Emperor and believe that only they are capable of sharing their leader's vision. They are carefully selected for recruitment at a young age by handpicked administrators. The potential candidates are subjected to loyalty testing and phrenological study, the results passed through the Difference Engines as a final profile check. Then they are indoctrinated and trained, a process which takes years, their motivation, abilities and loyalty carefully monitored throughout. At the end of the process most take their place amongst the ranks of the Chuno Ggun. any that fail along the way disappear, never to be seen again.
The Chuno Ggun are based in secret locations in the wilderness (usually located near the rail and canal network, to ensure supplies are uninterrupted, have a large presence at the Emperor's palace, and work in the field, under deep cover, infiltrating groups, hunting individuals and monitoring enemies of the Emperor.
Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:53 am