Isles of the Saharan Sea: Character Backgrounds...

Good Afternoon, All:

Some time ago, I mentioned the role of character backgrounds in my post on Background Abilities, and I've touched on it occasionally since then. In fact, I even included them in my Swords & Planet RPG game.

For the Isles of the Saharan Sea campaign, I want to create some character background options to enhance the immersion of the characters into the campaign setting itself. Each will have a little descriptive blurb, as well as an in-game bonus and an in-game obligation or goal. This way, players are rewarded for voluntarily immersing their characters into the setting. Running quickly through the material I've generated so far, I've come up with the following possible list of options. Before it's all said and done, I may trim it down or add some extras to the list.

• Brother of the Black Rose
• Child of Pakaton
• Cultist of the Dragon Turtle
• Disciple of the Reef
• Elemental Magus
• Escaped Slave of the Kelshani Slavelords
• Former Aberration Cultist
• Fugitive Apprentice of the Sanguine Sea
• Gladiator of Devil's Cove
• Hunter of Revenants
• Knight of the Unshackled Brethren
• Leviathan Hunter of Sanmari
• Magus-Athlete of the Games Arcane
• Privateer of the Great Ports
• Raider of Kimojan
• Scourge of the Saharan Sea
• Sea Magus
• Shipwright of Great Denjados
• Storm Knight of Tarth
• Student of the Order Primordiae

I'm going to post some of my thoughts on these in a future post or two, as I continue to create elements that I'll be able to use in the Isles of the Saharan Sea campaign.

Enjoy,
Flynn

Stellar Quest: The Assumed Setting...

Good Evening, All:

In pursuit of creating an assumed setting for Stellar Quest, I started with the following generalization. This brief overview provides some explanation for ancient relics that offer great plot devices, and begins to describe the political situation around which the setting is based. This overview is not complete, but hopefully is the start of a simple yet useful section that will make it into the final rules for Stellar Quest:

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, an ancient humanoid civilization known to modern historians as the Progenitors passed through this region of space. In the process of settling many of the local habitable worlds, the Progenitors seeded these worlds with genetic material that would eventually lead to the humanoids that inhabit the worlds of this region. Very few remnants of the Progenitor civilization has survived to the modern day, and fewer of those artifacts still function, but those that do are noted for the apparent ease by which these relics violate our current understanding of physics.

As humanity evolved on Terra, rising from the anarchy of a primitive tribal existence on a slow rise to civilization, other species on distant worlds also evolved, albeit at different rates. Some species advanced more quickly than others, expanding from their homeworld to neighboring stars, only to collapse like a flash in the night. In some cases, these races would conquer and dominate other worlds, while other species would merely observe and rarely intervene with more slowly developing races. In time, however, some races would emerge as the dominant species of the region. Among them are the stoic Eridanites, the honorable Procyans, and the stubborn Cygnans, as well as the adaptable Terrans. In recent centuries, these neighbors have bonded together into an interstellar political alliance known as the Confederation of United Worlds. The Confederation is protected by an interstellar naval force known as the Stellar Patrol.

Beyond the local interstellar neighborhood, other races have emerged in their own regards, most of whom are antagonistic to the Confederation. These enemies include the reptilian Hadrons, the militaristic Cronosians, the felinoid Artathi, the blue-skinned Rromani marauders, the psychic Celerans and the enigmatic Magellans.

Any input you might have would be greatly appreciated.

With Regards,
Flynn