------------------------------- ATC2 - A Galaxy Full of Stars: Basic Information ------------------------------- Campaign GMed by: Chamelaeon Yu-Mei Created with invaluable assistance from: Mechalink Ardweden Campaign Setup ************** Game style: A space opera with a twist. High technology meets mutation in the sequel to ATC! Expect battles of mecha and battles of wits, combined with a huge setting and a dash of absurdity. The focus will be on interaction and not combat, though combat will occur. Number of Players: Accepting up to 8 final players. All information about character types and stats will be released in a chargen document. The Backstory (Abridged Version) ******************************** Pre-ATC1: Around 2020, mankind took a leap into space, and colonized both Mars and the moon. They moved on to place gas collection stations on Venus, and mineral mines on the asteroids. Meanwhile, Earth became a paradise once more, the environment fixed itself, and the rich literally inherited the Earth. Mars became the haven of the poor and the destitute, not to mention the risk takers who moved there anyways. All colonies were funded by corporations, some of who ran fast and loose with contract law. As a result, some citizens found themselves drafted into corporation armies. A rebellion sprang up - the NeoHippy Rebellion. Exosuits, previously used for exploration, became battle weapons. The stage was set for ATC1. To read more about the prehistory for ATC1, look at < http://chamelaeon.sandwich.net/rpg/Setting.txt > ATC: A team of employees of Andressen Tofu Corp (ATC) was sent to Europa, ostensibly to look for a rare chemical. They didn't know it, but they were really sent there to search for proof of an alien species. They found it in spades. After being transported 17,907 light years to the Sleythin homeworld and discovering two races, the peaceful Sleythin and the silicate Bugs, they returned, and were quickly mired in a web of AI entrigue called "The Game". In the meantime, they put down the Hippy Rebellion singlehandedly, despite the Bugs' aid to the NeoHippies. This next bit is prediction: it hasn't happened in campaign yet. They then proceeded to fight two wars: first they destroyed the Bugs by eliminating the mother AI, the Pyramid; then, they destroyed the mysterious AI known as the Cloud and his horde of clones. To read more about what happened in ATC, go read the logs at < http://chamelaeon.sandwich.net/rpg/ > Changes Since ATC1 ****************** It has been 25 years since ATC1 ended, and the year is now 2089. Here is a bulleted list of the changes that have gone on, with a short summary and a URL where you can find more on the topic. None of these additional files are required reading, but they are recommended, especially those that coincide with your character concept. * Inevitable Expansion/Terraforming of Mars: Mankind always keeps growing, and so they have in the last twenty-five years. The old habitations still exist: Mars, Earth, the Venus gas mines, and the asteroid colonies/mines. In addition, there are now permanent ATC outposts on most of the moons of Jupiter, and several on some of the moons of Saturn. Some of these are inhabited by people other than ATC staff, though not many. They are inhospitable places to live. Mars, on the other hand, through the use of nanites in terraforming, is finally blooming, quite literally. Several designated Terraforming Zones are now viable ecosystems, with plants, animals, and the like, imported from Earth. Magnetic ion curtains keep the atmosphere locked in. For brief descriptions of all the places a character could come from, look at < World.txt > * Twenty-Four Syndrome: The human race has mutated, almost within the span of a few years. 85% or so of children born now have a 24th chromosome. It is called "Twenty-Four Syndrome", and it causes wide and varied mutations. The rate of failed mutations is absolutely zero. The effects of the mutations range from commonplace things such as extra fingers to bizarre things like teleportation. To read more about Twenty-Four Syndrome, look at < Mutation.txt > * Rise of ATC/Fall of other corps/Rediscovery of Ntntl Identity: ATC, who is viewed as being the savior of most of humanity, has accrued an insane market share of everything. They are rapidly becoming the only corporation on Mars, and to a lesser degree, on Earth as well. As a result, the other corporations have begun failing, leaving cities on Mars with no government. The cities are banding together, under nations they had left behind on Earth, and are generally rediscovering their cultural heritages and a national identity. A quick example might be the modded ATC exosuit designs showing up in Red Japan; every month they look more like old samurai plate or sleek ninja-style designs. To read more about ATC and the new Martian nations, look at < Corporations.txt > * Sleythin: The Sleythin, taken aback at the Twenty-Four mutation, have not integrated totally with the humans. Most of them still live on their planet, though many of them have moved to Mars or even Earth, and even more are just visiting. Humans, on the other hand, especially non-Twenty-Fours, have leapt at the chance to live among the Sleythin, and several thousand did before the Sleythin got around to instituting a procedure for it. As for the Sleythin culture, not much has changed. To read more about the reactions of the Sleythin to events, look at < Aliens.txt > * Bug Resurgences: The Pyramid, the mother brain of the Bugs, has been killed. When she died, all her brood appeared to die... but were actually just dormant. At random times, one of the higher caste Bugs can spontaneously reactivate, and all the underling Bugs beneath it will activate as well. These Resurgences can happen at any time, and since most people have forgotten where they placed the Bugs' mass graves after the war, they can happen almost anywhere. To read more about the Bug Resurgences (and how to play a Bug), look at < Aliens.txt > * Technology: Twenty-five years is a long time in the tech world. Nanites have become wildly popular, though not so omnipresent as in the Sleythin city. Nanite-based suits have fallen out of use with the humans, due to a technology known as Mindlink. Accessed by either an electrode headband or a datajack in the skull, Mindlink provides superior control and maneuverability in an exosuit. Unfortunately, the human brain can't move the suit and keep the nanites together. Also in response to this tech, exos have gotten lighter and faster. So, people have developed Heavy Exosuits (HEXes), large exos usually about two to three times human height, and usually quite powerful. HEXes are controlled in the old fashioned muscle-response manner. Cybernetics are rapidly growing in popularity as well, especially since a datajack allows for use of TriSense Mindlink (TSM), a rudimentary VR platform. Naturally, most of the technology is developed and pushed by ATC. To read more about technological changes, look at < Technology.txt > * General Culture: The Twenty-Four mutation is having odd secondary effects on culture. The wild and spectacular are becoming commonplace, and it has sparked a movement for a simpler lifestyle. Minimalism looks ready to make a huge comeback in technology, art, and building design. Postmodernist minimalist writers like Raymond Carver and Tobias Wolff are once again in fashion, though the appreciation of "fine" art and literature is more pursued on Earth than Mars. Nevertheless, NewsNet ads about "simplifying your life" and "returning to the basics" have shown huge responses. And on both planets, and all the colonies, the big names in classical music have started to make Top Forty lists. Overall, sensationalism is seen as droll and uninteresting, and it looks like humanity is ready for a rest. For more on the culture changes, look at < Culture.txt > Notes and Errata **************** Notes: -- Make your characters *interesting*! We will be doing character-based plot arcs for each character, so a cohesive backstory is required. -- Excellent backstories will recieve up to 2 BP. -- We reserve the right to ignore combat twinks. -- ATC is "science-faction". We're fairly loose about it, but try to stay within the realm of physics. -- If you have any questions, feel free to ask Yu or Cham.