Design Monologue 26: 95 Theses

This one's been analyzed to death, but some of it bears repeating.

Forehead Aliens

Problem

Humanoid aliens add more silliness than they are worth. Like demihuman races in D&D, most forehead aliens are sideshows. The only exception are the rare few who are cooler than humans (vulcans, betazoids, trill) who are essentially elves. All this does is remind us how nice it is to be human, or how much better we could probably very easily make ourselves with spage-age technology, but for whatever reason, don't.

Solution

No forehead aliens. We'll use something more like X-Files aliens, where there might be some, but who knows? If ever there were, they'd be like Aliens aliens, far too dangerous to control, and not at all nice.

Small Universe

Problem

The whole galaxy is mapped out. The Federation and Pals own the Alpha and Beta quadrant, while the other two are owned by the Dominion and Borg, now both defeated. The galaxy is now solved. The end.

Solution

Well, a couple dabs of science will clear that up. First of all, the Homeworlds occupies a radius of no more than a couple hundred light years...peanuts to space. Secondly, if ever there was a massive, overbearing alien empire (likened to the Dominion or Borg), while their reach might be far, they won't "own" a whole quadrant of the galaxy. That's a little much.

Shiny Happy People

Problem

With the exception of a few bridge officers lucky enough to find themselves on an Enterprise or Defiant, every one of the hundreds of billions of Federation citizens lives in unmitigated bliss every damn second of their stupidly long lives. If they don't, something is seriously wrong, and you can bet a galaxy-class starship will be along right away to fix it.

Solution

We all know humans are best during a crisis, at least as far as Hollywood is concerned. The Earthgate War conveniently ripped civilization a new one, and they're still picking up the pieces. Life is grand for those who live in the Core Worlds, but not so much for the denizens of the colonies and the Rogue States. Core Worlders are likely to blame the colonials for putting themselves in that position, while those who live there are less free to "move up" in the world than the rich people think. You know...like the real world.

Sucky Space Combat

Problem

The space combat in Star Trek, with rare exception, sucks balls.

Solution

Get better writers. Oh wait...already done.

Limited Premise

Problem

The premise of BSG was amazing, and led to a couple of phenomenal seasons of television. It soon wore thin, and the show began to collapse into melodrama, begging to be put down.

Solution

This is a very tricky one. The drama of BSG had everything to do with the desperation of 40,000 humans fighting for the survival of their race. It ran out because, well, just how many dangers can they face, which don't destroy them, before the fear of their failure fades to the inevitability of their success?

You just can't prolong that kind of drama forever. There have been plenty of great shows, movies, and books which didn't involve the extinction of humanity. Homeworlds is meant for those plots; sure, the death of 5 people is less tragic than the death of 5,000,000,000 people, but when you really get to know those 5 people, the odds start to even out a bit.

:This isn't to say that Homeworlds doesn't have this kind of drama. Everyone remembers the Earthgate War, or what they learned of it growing up. Everyone knows it could happen again. Life goes on, but they don't forget the lessons they learned. It can still serve as the plot for a campaign, or, it can be safely ignored indefinitely.

Religion in Space

Problem

Religion and space go together like oil and water. And yet, BSG insists on trying to mix them, with predictable results. Life on other planets, the irrelevance of Israel...many things throw monkey wrenches into the gears of religion when you start colonizing space.

Solution

I don't think religion is going to go away, or become a strange local phenomenon like it does in Star Trek. Instead, I think a new religion will develop, rooted in Earthly monotheistic tradition, but accounting for the realities we encounter in space. The difficulties caused by religion won't go away either, and that can be a very big deal to tiny, fragile colonies at the edge of space.

:Thus, religion creates drama, and it's realistic, so it stays. Of course, it won't be presented as the "right choice" to the protagonists "wrong choice", as BSG tries to stuff down our throats. Every effort will be made to treat religion fairly, but believably, while keeping it important, if not central.

Beyond Good and Evil

Problem

Firefly portrayed the Alliance as a bunch of fat, selfish consumer pigs who tromp all over the liberties of the simple, honest folk of the outer worlds. It makes us like the heroes more. It also may well have contributed to the show's lack of mainstream appeal, as that same mainstream is exactly who the show is criticizing. It's ultimately a very biased view that limits the playability of that world as a setting.

Solution

While I doubt most people truly identify with the Alliance and find the show offensive, it is a subtle effect that limits the dramatic potential. Often, it seems like Mal romanticizes life on the frontier; very few people with whom he deals seem to share his frontiersman code of honor. Granted, the show was cut off long before its due; I have faith these issues would have been explored in greater detail, given time.

:Homeworlds will have that time. There will be gray area. The Foundation is run by good people, who truly believe in peace, mutual prosperity, and all the principles they espouse. But, the best of intentions aren't always enough; they cannot always accomplish their goals without comprising the liberty of others.

:Meanwhile, the free spirits who choose to settle the DMZ aren't all sugar and roses. Many of these people live there because they are criminals, and can't live free in civilized space. Plenty of them are just too ignorant to realize what they could have in the Core Worlds. Some of these people are out there because nobody else wanted them, for good reason.

:Unlike BSG, it's okay if the factions exist in a gray area. That just means that they're all valid choices (pure evil is usually not a good faction to work for, while pure good is just plain boring). Like Mal and his crew, it will be the heroes of the story who truly define good and evil, not their affiliation.

Seen one, seen em all

Problem

EVE contains over 5,000 star systems, which might as well just be the same one repeated 5,000 times.

Solution

Scientifically speaking, every star system is a beautiful and unique snowflake. In practice, they all look very similar: there's a lot of blackness, a few tiny points of light for the planets, and big bright star or two.

:Systems must be distinguished not only by sovereignty, but by what you might find there. You'll remember a system more for that big factory-city you once worked in, or the fuel station with hidden den of pleasures below, or the beautiful planet you once vacationed on.

:And yet, the most important feature in a system isn't even remotely visible from space. When the PCs journey to yet another dusty, old-west-style colony in the DMZ, it's gonna be the details that make them give a shit about the town's poor inhabitants. The people they meet, the places they see, whatever charms brought the colonists to the spot they chose on the planet; these are what the PCs will take home from their journey.

:Like Star Trek, there are enough systems that every GM can make up all he wants without fear of running out. Still, there will be many fully detailed systems available in the source material.