Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Cube: First System

So, I have System 134 pretty much done, maybe a few outposts, but that's it.  Anyway, I ended up with one substantial colony world in the system, in the form of a tiny sulfur moon orbiting a gas giant at the edge of the system.

134-VIIIa        Tiny (Sulfur)
No Atmosphere/Hydrosphere
Surface Temperature 47K (Frozen)
Density .6
Diameter .5
Surface Gravity .30
Mass .08
Heavy Volcanic Activity
No Tectonic Activity
Resources +2 (Very Abundant)
Habitability -1
Affinity +1

COLONY
Tech Level 10
Carrying Capacity 10m
Population 1.5m (PR 6)
Corporate Meritocracy (CR 6)
Per Capita Income 53,600 (Average)
Economic Volume $80B
Class B Star Port
Corporate Headquarters (PR 3)
Criminal Base (PR 1)
Espionage Facilities (1 Civilian (PR 1), 2 Enemy (PR 3, PR 1)
Private Research Centers (2) (PR 2, PR 1)
Rebel/Terrorist Base (PR 1)
Scout Base (PR 3)

For the most part, it seemed to start out as a simple mining colony on a resource-rich, but dangerous, moon.  When I did the random rolls for installations on the planet, that's when things got interesting.

It's a Corporate Headquarters for a seemingly huge company (the headquarters has a population in the thousands, after all) with a decent research base and a sizable Scout Service presence.  The criminal, espionage, and terrorist bases are the ones that raised my eyebrow.  An enemy government literally has THOUSANDS of agents on the system.

One of the technological themes I was debating was the lack of Jump-2 in the hands of the civilian sector.  While this is a TL10 world (giving them a mere Jump-1), what if this is the main locus of FTL research in the imperial portion of The Cube?  That would explain quite a bit of why so many people are interested in it.  One of the reasons the authority of the Imperial Remnant can be maintained is the monopoly they hold on Jump-2 starships.  Terrorists or criminals with Jump-2 would be game-changers.


I'm thinking that the large espionage contingent will be from whoever the most ambitious (and hostile) system I end up generating among the remaining 21 imperial systems.  The rest of them will be taking advantage of the meritocratic system, figuring out ways to crack the tests to get their people in key positions.  I'm seeing the strict control as a very flimsy house of cards, riddled with interlopers who are undermining it for their own factions' benefit.  Things could go south here in a hurry.


Fun Times in the Cube, folks.

1 comment:

  1. I'm a fellow gamer and beer enthusiast. Just wanted to stop by and say nice blog.

    ReplyDelete