>[!warning] ***Internal note: this has been hidden from the public database.*** Ok… I went ahead and did it. I moved the whole “current” setting forward 47 fucking years. ## Changes One of the biggest things I’m not going to do is rewrite everything. A lot of things will carry forward with minor changes. All existing tech is going to be current with the new dates. Things in the prior time periods will be somewhat less advanced. Things simply so I don’t have to rework everything. That said, tech *is* fairly stagnant. Aside from the setting breaking Kitchner Drives, but I decided to severely limit their availability (and manufacturing rate). ## Factions I’ve brought a lot of the factions back to near what they were before 2386, except for poor [[EBRIS]], but they were off doing their own thing regardless. The main changes is how each of the older factions are responding to new threats and dealing with a loss of territory. I don’t want to completely muck up all the work I’ve put in and I also don’t want to radically change things up. My setting is stubborn. It likes to be what it was 50 years earlier. That was a happy equilibrium, so it’s mostly still that, but with more flavor. ## Overall Vibe I want Imperium to be like what I thought Rifts was, but mixed with Cyberpunk. *Note: Stay vague! Nothing kills intrigue more than have every little detail explained ad nauseam. Players and GMs should know enough to run campaigns in the setting, but there needs to be some mystery to explore and evoke speculation about.* So we’ve got: - Some big, but limited governments. They still hold tremendous power, but are checked by their need to be governments. - [[Corporations]] who don’t want to be nations, but hold tremendous power economically. - The church, and its factions, hold a lot of sway over people. They preach a sort of salvation and enforce their doctrine with the Inquisition (or similar). - Lots of smaller factions looking to get a foothold. - Aliens fighting each other and sometimes us. - Aliens working with humans as well. - Weird monsters out in the wilds. - [[Magic]] and technology mixed with magic. - An emphasis that our recovery after [[The Collapse]] was strange and we’re still wrapping our heads around old tech (while being able to manufacture and utilize it). - Computers are a bit mystical, in that the old tech computers need to be bargained with, as much as used. I want adventures to feel a little like the novels, but without the extreme elements. Players often act as the agents of larger entities. Doing the bidding of corporations, governments, the church or others, via the Brokers. (That reminds me, [[Broker|Brokers]] definitely shouldn’t be a playable profession - I’m changing them to Liaisons or Proxies or something) The vast range of environments need to give players a wide range of potions. From frontier villages under siege by aliens or monsters, to vast mega cities where corporations use them to do their dirty work. Players should have agency though. They may use what they learn during an operation to twist the scales against those that hired them. But they also risk bringing down a world of hurt by crossing various factions. They shouldn’t feel like they can’t make some big moves, however. ## Solo Play I want to build the [[Imperium - Schattenkrieg TTRPG]] around being able to play by yourself. But I don’t want it to be a glorified board game like Astroprisma. I also want to make sure the game *can* be played traditionally. This means I will have to develop some kind of tables for encounters and NPCs interactions. I need to be able to generate random planets as well, should an adventure lead to space opera territory. Players should not get their own spaceships. But I do want to include some simple rules for vehicle combat and perhaps larger scale battles. One of my biggest stumbling blocks right now is the “Oracle” concept. I want something like that, but I don’t think I want it to be quite so vague. I dunno, maybe solo role players like vague? Perhaps adding simple tables for more specific answers or plot suggestions can go a long way. I should probably come up with some (maybe 3?) starter scenarios to get the general vibe across. I need to remember that not everyone who plays the game will pick up the novel. So there needs to be some kind of baseline precedent for what to expect (even if the novels go off the rails). ## Character Classes Maybe I need to rework my concept of character classes. Or even simplify them into a few archetypes (which can overlap). Being employed by a government, corporation or other, can provide a kicking off point for an adventure. But it doesn’t leave a lot of room for autonomy. So maybe I need to do “ex” employee classes or bonuses. That way, everyone is a freelancer of some kind, but they have backgrounds that provide their skills (which they will use going forward). Honestly, that’s probably the best way. After all, what game ever has a character with a day job? Maybe I’ll leave an “employment” option in, but have freelancing as a default. ## What Am I Saying? I’ve put a lot of effort into Imperium, catalyzed by the novel(s). The whole thing feels so much more alive now and isn’t just a handful of broad strokes that I (once) thought was good worldbuilding. As much as I'm enjoying the novel projects. Imperium at its core was always about role-playing. I want that to be as accessible as absolutely possible. I need to make another pass at the rules so simplify some things. The game should be able to be picked up and played while reading through the QuickStart/Tutorial. Sure, there’s going to be more advanced rules, but it needs to stay at a level where tweens can pick it up and enjoy it (assuming they ever get off their screens). However, the lore and worldbuilding need to be deep enough that adults are interested. Thus the rules need to have some depth and or optional stuff that keeps them hooked. **Focus**: Imperium is not going to be a universal system anymore. It’s going to be tailored to the setting and the scenarios it supports. That said, it will need some broad rules, as you never know when your ammo is going to run dry on some backwater planet and you need to stab a dude with a pike. But I’m not going to have deep, tactical, melee rules; just the basics for range and damage (types). Above all. I really love the world I’ve created and I want it to be fun, interesting, spooky, and profound. I guess engaging too, but that feels like a buzz word. As much as [[Jeff Faulkner|Jeff]] and Co. were being led around by the nose, that’s mostly a failure on my part than a fundamental flaw of the setting. I wanted to tell a grand tale of monumental events. Players are more likely to be operating on a much smaller scale. But that shouldn’t mean that can’t tip the scales of the universe too, so that needs to be an option. ## Diminishing Returns I am hitting a wall. The setting is dangerously close to getting too big for me to deal with. So I think it’s close to the point where I should settle down a bit and get everything “on paper.” It’s actually getting to the point where I’m losing interest in some of the details and not enjoying myself. Which is bad. So yeah, I need to pause on all this mess and get to the product end of things. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty more to do and or clarify. I would like the base book to be on the smaller side, but I’ll see what I end up with. There should be an overview of the major factions, but I’m not against putting out sourcebooks for each either. Though those will be considerably less exciting than traditional source books. If any of them are too small, maybe I’ll lump some things together. Like the [[Lacir]] and [[Kyserian|Kyserians]]. That way, I could explain their relationship and ongoing conflicts without having to write all that twice (the [[Morocaschic|Morocaschics]] could go in there too). Again, I’ll see what happens, as it happens.