So I'm thinking of running a Firefly-esq game.

[Ravenwing]

I was bored tonight, our regular PF game ended early because of some RL issues, and I put Serenity in the ole DVD player and me and the wify watched it.

Well that got me thinking about a new campaign ideal. Running a Firefly/Serenity inspired game. No I don't mean a conversion of Firefly or Serenity, but one that borrows from it's themes, tone, and flavor.

So that got me thinking, what is the theme of Serenity/Firefly? To that I say the obvious, Wild West in Space, with a not so subtle undertone of Rebels Vs Fascist Regime. I know that Joss based his show on the idea of the Wild West, and the ongoing resentment that Confederate troops had for the Union, and being forced to live and abide by its laws. It also drew influence from the anger and resentment of some people over the reconstruction of the south, and the settlement of the west.

So from that I'm thinking of a separate Galaxy from Phase world and the Three Galaxies. Probably the Milky Way. I never cared for the idea that Firefly happens all within the same star system, so I'm going to expand my playground to the whole galaxy.

So then tone. The Tone for Firefly is to my mind a down and out fringe type setting. Life close to the core is good, with all the perks of civilization, basically shiny. But that good life comes at the cost of freedom, independence, liberties and choices. Living away from the core, you have all the things you don't in the core, but none of the Shiny. So the tone then is Substance over style. But it's also one of Hope and Fear, reconstruction and domination.

Now then the Flavor of Firefly is the fun part, It's American wild west, meets China. While I like that in Firefly, it does get kinda annoying when they switch back and forth between English and Chinese(Various dialects) so I'm going to skip that. I'm going to keep the Wild West flavor, but I think I'll mix various cultures into the mix. So say there's a planet of Scottish folk, where everyone speaks with a Scottish brogue(and you can't understand a blasted thing they say laddie!) and another that's Welsh, or Aussie, or whatever.

So so far, I have a Galactic Government, working to order and control the Galaxy. Ok. We've also decided that the PC's will be down and outers, living on the edge of the Galaxy. Out there is where the Wild West tone is most prominent, with a mix of high and low tech. Very little is Shiny, and everyday is a struggle to survive, get paid, and make a living. Our basic story being that the Colonies tried to resist domination by the Galactic Government, but lost, and now they are being incorporated into the greater galaxy. Civilized would be the term.

No then the elements that I'd like advice on.

Should it be MDC environment? I'm leaning towards a no, make it a pure SDC/HP Dimension. But I'd love to hear any thoughts on that.

Should there be non-humans? If so, then I think it would take on a sort of CS like flavor. I mean in Firefly the Alliance is almost nazi like in their style of governing. But equally valid in my mind would be a Galaxy devoid of life, save for humans.

What about Magic? I admit since my inspiration doesn't have magic in it, I lean towards not including magic in the Galaxy, that for whatever reason, this 'Verse is simply devoid of magic in any form. But I'd like to hear anyones reason for including it.

Psionics? Again our inspirational material includes it, so I'm leaning towards including it myself. Should I allow PCC's, or just make everyone role on the Psionics table, and deny PCCs? Should I not allow Psionics at all, and keep it a strictly 'Tech' environment?

what about Power Armor? Giant Robots? Lets just call them Mecha, should I include them in the Galaxy, or allow only things like Exoskeletons( Like the Gladius suit from rifts Mercs, or the CS Exoskeleton Body Armor, or even Triax?).

What about droids? Like sentient(or AI robots)

Force fields?

Hmmm.... I'll have to think a bit about some other possible options, but that's the bare bones of it for now. thoughts?

[drewkitty ~..~]

Would point out that the AU:GG book has ship construction rules in it.

[Ravenwing]

Would point out that the AU:GG book has ship construction rules in it.

Thank You Kitty! I'd forgotten which book they were in! Glad I picked up that Hero Unlimited lot off amazon the other week!

[Ravenwing]

I think magic could work if you keep it super rare, to the point where most of the population doesn't even believe it works. That way you can sneak out the occasional "it works because magic" explanation while running the game.

Smiling_Bandit - The best mages aren't known as mages

Well I rarely need to with the groups I play with. Most of us are older, and have played RPG's for well over two decades. If magic exists in the setting, they like me, understand how it functions, and so an explanation is rarely needed unless it's a homebrew thing, and then it's only to explain what the effect is.

However if magic is rare, why is it rare? Is it like a CoC thing, and magic and its use/study drive you mad? Or could it be a possible corruption thing? Or another explanation might be that with the populace of this Galaxy having such advanced technology, and therefore a grounding in science that they can't accept that magic exists and how it could possible function in a 'Verse where everything has to be quantified, studied, observed and explained?

I like that last option, it doesn't require a new mechanic to be designed and bolted onto the system, which would probably feel clunky to begin with. It would also mean that practitioners would be younger I think, with a more open and understanding mind, one capable of grasping that Magic is in itself a separate thing altogether from science, and that science can never explain it, and to do so is foolish. I see these young practitioners thinking of magic as a sort of Cheat Code for the 'Verse as well.

[Secondhand Smoke]

Go with tech only, no magic,
I'd say make mdc weapons and armour, but its super rare, materials to make it are extremely rare and production of it is very small scale/still experimental as its only just been discovered!!!
No pcc idea and everyone rolls for psionics sounds good,
I'd say exoskeletons are cool, power armour is a bit much
Definately have some minor cybernetics as well

[Ravenwing]

MDC for Starships seems like a doable thing if we were to keep the MDC to a minimal. The problem with low MDC settings, IE were guns and armor are available but in limited quantities, is that the PC's will try like the dickens to get their hands on them, rightfully fearing that NPC's will have them. Once(if) they do they run rough shod over the entire campaign. Whats the point of a story where the hero can defeat each and every foe he encounters with a minimal of effort? It seems rather undramatic to me.

But if only starships are MDC, then that changes the equation very nicely.No one expects to be hit by orbital bombardment and survive! It also draws a nice line in the sand, Starships MDC, everything else SDC.

Of course we could also go all MDC, but I'm really liking this division between MDC/SDC. MDC is suppose to be high tech, whats more high tech then FTL Starships?

[taalismn]

Go with tech only, no magic,
I'd say make mdc weapons and armour, but its super rare, materials to make it are extremely rare and production of it is very small scale/still experimental as its only just been discovered!!!
No pcc idea and everyone rolls for psionics sounds good,
I'd say exoskeletons are cool, power armour is a bit much
Definately have some minor cybernetics as well

A government monopoly on MDC weaponry(the more powerful starship types and smaller handheld weaponry) will make for a stronger case if the central government is acting (or is perceived as acting) tyrannical, and legal restrictions on distribution, plus penalties for possessing them unlawfully, will keep the PCs on their toes and less inclined about brandishing their megadamage shooters so much(unless they're working for the government, in which case they could develop a reputation for using the threat of their superior firepower to swaggeringly bully and oppress people).

[Ravenwing]

I would look at el magico -- darklorddc stuff on http://www.super-nexus.com/riftspace/main.htm this site has lots of good space stuff that might fit what your looking for.

It looks good!(and would be interesting to play as a standalone game) But maybe just a little to shiny for what I'm going for.

[ZINO]

love
keep S.D.C
I would suggest M.D.C to S.D.C example a 4d6 M.D.C would do 4d6 S.D.C
a ship that has I don't know 1200 M.D.C plus location turn all of them S.D.C
O.C.C all of them as is
but magic not common but not rare
rest as is

[drewkitty ~..~]

love
keep S.D.C
I would suggest M.D.C to S.D.C example a 4d6 M.D.C would do 4d6 S.D.C
a ship that has I don't know 1200 M.D.C plus location turn all of them S.D.C
O.C.C all of them as is
but magic not common but not rare
rest as is

How do you get a variable MDC/SDC number? MDC and SDC are what structures have.

[Ravenwing]

love
keep S.D.C
I would suggest M.D.C to S.D.C example a 4d6 M.D.C would do 4d6 S.D.C
a ship that has I don't know 1200 M.D.C plus location turn all of them S.D.C
O.C.C all of them as is
but magic not common but not rare
rest as is

How do you get a variable MDC/SDC number? MDC and SDC are what structures have.

Your being to literal there Kitty. What he means is MD to SD. Just drop the C when you read it and it's all good.

[flatline]

A 1:1 or 1:2 for converting mega damage to normal damage is a good idea since it will drive home the feeling of how fragile the space ships are.

Space is a scary place for us air breathers...

--flatline

[ZINO]

A 1:1 or 1:2 for converting mega damage to normal damage is a good idea since it will drive home the feeling of how fragile the space ships are.

Space is a scary place for us air breathers...

--flatline

this is what I meant
thank you flatline

[drewkitty ~..~]

love
keep S.D.C
I would suggest M.D.C to S.D.C example a 4d6 M.D.C would do 4d6 S.D.C
a ship that has I don't know 1200 M.D.C plus location turn all of them S.D.C
O.C.C all of them as is
but magic not common but not rare
rest as is

How do you get a variable MDC/SDC number? MDC and SDC are what structures have.

Your being to literal there Kitty. What he means is MD to SD. Just drop the C when you read it and it's all good.

Was being literal to point out the stupidness of it. If I blame anything it is the Bad Editing in the Rifts books.

[Ravenwing]

love
keep S.D.C
I would suggest M.D.C to S.D.C example a 4d6 M.D.C would do 4d6 S.D.C
a ship that has I don't know 1200 M.D.C plus location turn all of them S.D.C
O.C.C all of them as is
but magic not common but not rare
rest as is

How do you get a variable MDC/SDC number? MDC and SDC are what structures have.

Your being to literal there Kitty. What he means is MD to SD. Just drop the C when you read it and it's all good.

Was being literal to point out the stupidness of it. If I blame anything it is the Bad Editing in the Rifts books.

Just trying to keep the peace.

[drewkitty ~..~]

love
keep S.D.C
I would suggest M.D.C to S.D.C example a 4d6 M.D.C would do 4d6 S.D.C
a ship that has I don't know 1200 M.D.C plus location turn all of them S.D.C
O.C.C all of them as is
but magic not common but not rare
rest as is

How do you get a variable MDC/SDC number? MDC and SDC are what structures have.

Your being to literal there Kitty. What he means is MD to SD. Just drop the C when you read it and it's all good.

Was being literal to point out the stupidness of it. If I blame anything it is the Bad Editing in the Rifts books.

Just trying to keep the peace.

I will have to say that lately I have not been seeing this particular item less often here in the boards.

[DhAkael]

Reason for it is bias on the part of the NARC's; the true trolls get away with murder while the people just wanting to enjoy themselves get kicked in the three-peice by the narcs for reporting said trolls...

[DhAkael]

..but back to topic; If you want to do a Joss Whedon styled space-wetsern game you can go either way; Play it straight up Aliens Unlimmited galaxy Guide (but with only humans if you want to be borring and close minded), or have aliens and really go to town.
OR; have it straight up MDC & SDC and cherry pick what you want from a plethora of source material, with the same cavetes as above.

But YOUR campaign, your sandbox, your 'verse.
Do what you want; you're the GM.

[Ravenwing]

..but back to topic; If you want to do a Joss Whedon styled space-wetsern game you can go either way; Play it straight up Aliens Unlimmited galaxy Guide (but with only humans if you want to be borring and close minded), or have aliens and really go to town.
OR; have it straight up MDC & SDC and cherry pick what you want from a plethora of source material, with the same cavetes as above.

But YOUR campaign, your sandbox, your 'verse.
Do what you want; you're the GM.

I'm fairly sure I'll do it solely SDC, with maybe the starships and their weapons as MDC. I like the grittiness of Firearms in the setting, with the oppressive Regime the sole user of energy weapons. However I started this topic mainly to get advise, and other peoples opinions.
How do you see Aliens fitting in? It would seem they would be either seriously oppressed, or possible on the verge of extinction as the over government moves about taking their worlds.

[DhAkael]

..but back to topic; If you want to do a Joss Whedon styled space-wetsern game you can go either way; Play it straight up Aliens Unlimmited galaxy Guide (but with only humans if you want to be borring and close minded), or have aliens and really go to town.
OR; have it straight up MDC & SDC and cherry pick what you want from a plethora of source material, with the same cavetes as above.

But YOUR campaign, your sandbox, your 'verse.
Do what you want; you're the GM.

I'm fairly sure I'll do it solely SDC, with maybe the starships and their weapons as MDC. I like the grittiness of Firearms in the setting, with the oppressive Regime the sole user of energy weapons. However I started this topic mainly to get advise, and other peoples opinions.
How do you see Aliens fitting in? It would seem they would be either seriously oppressed, or possible on the verge of extinction as the over government moves about taking their worlds.

-ahem-
Pure mathematics and probabilities.
several BILLION stars in the galaxy; humanity can NOT be the only species waving their junk around and having the muscle to back it up.
HOW-ev-ah! you can always have it that any aliens that DO exist, are keeping the heck away from the psycho-monkeys

[Ravenwing]

..but back to topic; If you want to do a Joss Whedon styled space-wetsern game you can go either way; Play it straight up Aliens Unlimmited galaxy Guide (but with only humans if you want to be borring and close minded), or have aliens and really go to town.
OR; have it straight up MDC & SDC and cherry pick what you want from a plethora of source material, with the same cavetes as above.

But YOUR campaign, your sandbox, your 'verse.
Do what you want; you're the GM.

I'm fairly sure I'll do it solely SDC, with maybe the starships and their weapons as MDC. I like the grittiness of Firearms in the setting, with the oppressive Regime the sole user of energy weapons. However I started this topic mainly to get advise, and other peoples opinions.
How do you see Aliens fitting in? It would seem they would be either seriously oppressed, or possible on the verge of extinction as the over government moves about taking their worlds.

-ahem-
Pure mathematics and probabilities.
several BILLION stars in the galaxy; humanity can NOT be the only species waving their junk around and having the muscle to back it up.
HOW-ev-ah! you can always have it that any aliens that DO exist, are keeping the heck away from the psycho-monkeys

Psycho Monkeys love it! I'm looking over the Aliens Unlimited book, along with the Galaxy Guide, and I'm thinking a union of sorts between a vast Terran Empire, and another Alien(s) species. With people that aren't the chosen kind pushed to the fringes of the Galaxy, back water systems and other such places. IDK, I'm still playing with it, but I think that would give you enough of the Flavor of Firefly, while not getting into a Star Wars like one, which I'm trying to avoid.

[Snow Hawk]

..but back to topic; If you want to do a Joss Whedon styled space-wetsern game you can go either way; Play it straight up Aliens Unlimmited galaxy Guide (but with only humans if you want to be borring and close minded), or have aliens and really go to town.
OR; have it straight up MDC & SDC and cherry pick what you want from a plethora of source material, with the same cavetes as above.

But YOUR campaign, your sandbox, your 'verse.
Do what you want; you're the GM.

I'm fairly sure I'll do it solely SDC, with maybe the starships and their weapons as MDC. I like the grittiness of Firearms in the setting, with the oppressive Regime the sole user of energy weapons. However I started this topic mainly to get advise, and other peoples opinions.
How do you see Aliens fitting in? It would seem they would be either seriously oppressed, or possible on the verge of extinction as the over government moves about taking their worlds.

-ahem-
Pure mathematics and probabilities.
several BILLION stars in the galaxy; humanity can NOT be the only species waving their junk around and having the muscle to back it up.
HOW-ev-ah! you can always have it that any aliens that DO exist, are keeping the heck away from the psycho-monkeys

Psycho Monkeys love it! I'm looking over the Aliens Unlimited book, along with the Galaxy Guide, and I'm thinking a union of sorts between a vast Terran Empire, and another Alien(s) species. With people that aren't the chosen kind pushed to the fringes of the Galaxy, back water systems and other such places. IDK, I'm still playing with it, but I think that would give you enough of the Flavor of Firefly, while not getting into a Star Wars like one, which I'm trying to avoid.

I like your idea so far it sounds fun, what OCCs are you going to allow?

[tmikesecrist3]

I have long been trying to think of a way to change the Rato of md to sd form 100:1 to 10:1 or something like that so that we could use a better mix of tech. the idea is to make sdc weapons 2nd class not completely useless. I do like that idea and that would make md weapons. I would think given the type of govt. and how controlling it is that energy weapons or md weapons would be extremely restricted ie only for milatary of govt use. more then likely I would think that it might well be the same for md body armor,

mom and I have been thinking about doing something much the same along the same lines I dont know maybe the 10:1 might be to high.

As for ooc, you might think about modding some for new west, and some phase world classes like the Caf fleet officer, grunt. Spacer space pirate runner... and many of the FWC occs actealy all of them if you want war veterans

[9voltkilowatt]

I'd say stick with an all S.D.C. setting, if for whatever reason you want something to be virtually impossible to damage with regular weaponry you can slap on some extra A.R. points.

Magic could be very easily slotted in and made feasible with nothing more then "the caster has to actually believe in magic". Which as already stated means most users (at least for humans) would probably need to be trained while they are still young.

I'd think aliens could be easily workable and yet rarely seen simply by making them something other then copy-pasted humans that look different. Not to say that there couldn't be a race that has many of the same likes and dislikes, but its highly unlikely that every race is going to give a crap about verdant worlds filled with water and oxygen.

[TiekoSora]

In addition to what has already been discussed, in regards to psionics, I suggest at most minor psionics be allowed. Roll dice at character creation, and if the result would normally be master pisonics, then it is automatically minor pisonics. Any other roll would be none at all. Just a suggestion. Oh, and any master psionics would be used for NPC's.

[Hotrod]

I was bored tonight, our regular PF game ended early because of some RL issues, and I put Serenity in the ole DVD player and me and the wify watched it.

Well that got me thinking about a new campaign ideal. Running a Firefly/Serenity inspired game. No I don't mean a conversion of Firefly or Serenity, but one that borrows from it's themes, tone, and flavor.

So that got me thinking, what is the theme of Serenity/Firefly? To that I say the obvious, Wild West in Space, with a not so subtle undertone of Rebels Vs Fascist Regime. I know that Joss based his show on the idea of the Wild West, and the ongoing resentment that Confederate troops had for the Union, and being forced to live and abide by its laws. It also drew influence from the anger and resentment of some people over the reconstruction of the south, and the settlement of the west.

So from that I'm thinking of a separate Galaxy from Phase world and the Three Galaxies. Probably the Milky Way. I never cared for the idea that Firefly happens all within the same star system, so I'm going to expand my playground to the whole galaxy.

So then tone. The Tone for Firefly is to my mind a down and out fringe type setting. Life close to the core is good, with all the perks of civilization, basically shiny. But that good life comes at the cost of freedom, independence, liberties and choices. Living away from the core, you have all the things you don't in the core, but none of the Shiny. So the tone then is Substance over style. But it's also one of Hope and Fear, reconstruction and domination.

Now then the Flavor of Firefly is the fun part, It's American wild west, meets China. While I like that in Firefly, it does get kinda annoying when they switch back and forth between English and Chinese(Various dialects) so I'm going to skip that. I'm going to keep the Wild West flavor, but I think I'll mix various cultures into the mix. So say there's a planet of Scottish folk, where everyone speaks with a Scottish brogue(and you can't understand a blasted thing they say laddie!) and another that's Welsh, or Aussie, or whatever.

So so far, I have a Galactic Government, working to order and control the Galaxy. Ok. We've also decided that the PC's will be down and outers, living on the edge of the Galaxy. Out there is where the Wild West tone is most prominent, with a mix of high and low tech. Very little is Shiny, and everyday is a struggle to survive, get paid, and make a living. Our basic story being that the Colonies tried to resist domination by the Galactic Government, but lost, and now they are being incorporated into the greater galaxy. Civilized would be the term.

No then the elements that I'd like advice on.

Should it be MDC environment? I'm leaning towards a no, make it a pure SDC/HP Dimension. But I'd love to hear any thoughts on that.

Should there be non-humans? If so, then I think it would take on a sort of CS like flavor. I mean in Firefly the Alliance is almost nazi like in their style of governing. But equally valid in my mind would be a Galaxy devoid of life, save for humans.

What about Magic? I admit since my inspiration doesn't have magic in it, I lean towards not including magic in the Galaxy, that for whatever reason, this 'Verse is simply devoid of magic in any form. But I'd like to hear anyones reason for including it.

Psionics? Again our inspirational material includes it, so I'm leaning towards including it myself. Should I allow PCC's, or just make everyone role on the Psionics table, and deny PCCs? Should I not allow Psionics at all, and keep it a strictly 'Tech' environment?

what about Power Armor? Giant Robots? Lets just call them Mecha, should I include them in the Galaxy, or allow only things like Exoskeletons( Like the Gladius suit from rifts Mercs, or the CS Exoskeleton Body Armor, or even Triax?).

What about droids? Like sentient(or AI robots)

Force fields?

Hmmm.... I'll have to think a bit about some other possible options, but that's the bare bones of it for now. thoughts?

Really, you could play this out in the Three Galaxies. One of them (Thundercloud, I think) is considered prime space for settling and such, but even in more populous areas, space is BIG. Stay away from the heavily-populated planets, and you've got it.

You could also play this out in Rifts Earth space. In this case, the moon colony could be your fascist regime. Some folks aren't fond of MiO, though...

Manhunter would be a great setting for a game like this. If you don't like the aliens in it, you can simply cut them out. There's enough drama and intrigue without them. Good luck finding a copy. Oh, it also has its own ship creation rules.

[gaby]

Good idea,you need to change a few things,Maybe ther descendants of fleet escaping from a Empire in another Galaxy,geting to Yours by a Wormhold,they first setted on planets with no sentient life on them,A few Centuries later then they found low tech Ones,disease pass by first contact killed a majorty number of natvie races and planets were took,but ther also survivors,The One of the Reasons for the War was that the Pro-Expansion party lost not only the Election and but also influence in the Government,thinking if they are no longer the Ones in control they just leave,the new Party in control of the Gov think if they let them leave it will make them look weak to alien powers,they also fear future War from the Independences.
Insead of North vs South,it can be Spinward vs Anti-spinward.

ther can be Alien powers Rim and Coreward of them.

[The Beast]

I'd go with an SDC-only setting as well, and drop magic too.

[Alrik Vas]

Go with tech only, no magic,
I'd say make mdc weapons and armour, but its super rare, materials to make it are extremely rare and production of it is very small scale/still experimental as its only just been discovered!!!
No pcc idea and everyone rolls for psionics sounds good,
I'd say exoskeletons are cool, power armour is a bit much
Definately have some minor cybernetics as well

A government monopoly on MDC weaponry(the more powerful starship types and smaller handheld weaponry) will make for a stronger case if the central government is acting (or is perceived as acting) tyrannical, and legal restrictions on distribution, plus penalties for possessing them unlawfully, will keep the PCs on their toes and less inclined about brandishing their megadamage shooters so much(unless they're working for the government, in which case they could develop a reputation for using the threat of their superior firepower to swaggeringly bully and oppress people).

This is what i suggest for MDC in game. Make the badguys pretty much invincible...until the campaign turns toward taking on the government (if it does) then at that point, they aren't dealing with common cronies anymore and they'll have supertech as well (whether from their own ventures or an ally).

As for magic, however...here's a thought. There could be SDC spells, and MDC spells. And i wouldn't let there be any more than say...20 spells in known existence, with magic users having extremely low PPE and knowing MAYBE 2-3 spells, 5 if you're a master.

Just make the spells pretty awesome, and make using magic a hereditary gift, and the government is trying to genesplice a mage army.

Sorry, goin' all over the place...

[taalismn]

AI? Droids?

In the 3G setting, the CCW's paranoid about AIs because of the Automaton Wars(I personally ignore this of the possibility of Space Opera with Digital Gods and Bolos). Don't wanna use that setting and attitude, but don't want AIs dominating everything? Can play it in several ways.
-AI is Taboo---For reasons mentioned only fleetingly, AIs really aren't possible/trusted. Maybe there was something akin to the Automaton Wars, or some ugly incidents that have people not trusting AIs, so the development of Digital Gods is outlawed. On the frontier where belts are tight, it's virtually impossible, and only simple, rugged, workaday drones are common(and on some planets, even those aren't available).

-AI is Here; We Wanna Be Elsewhere---The Digital Gods are already here, running the shiny coreworlds, monitoring the citizens, managing the economies, and slowly stifling human spirit. The frontier is where people go to flee the Quiet Robopocalypse, and Denlechism-style movements are the rage for the colonies. A great way to get the locals in an uproar is to hint that the new colonial administration is bringing in greater networking, run by more advanced AI systems.

-AI is renegade---Advanced AIs and sentient androids on the frontier can be the result of covert corporate development projects, covert government initiatives that could threaten the status quo and peace of mind of the frontier folk, or are renegades who have escaped on their own from paranoid or oppressive central coreworld society and government. Maybe the android is part of a secret government military effort to assimilate the colonies, or a covert miltary buildup against some mysterious threat hinted at just beyond the rim...Or is a super-calculator that got tired of beancounting and decided to go out and LIVE a little.

-AI is Bulky---Robot drones are common enough, but true sentient AIs are big massive affairs tied to big office mainframes or ships, and can only interact with other folk through audio/video avatars or remote control drones. THat may limit the movement of sentient AIs in the setting.

[flatline]

AI? Droids?

In the 3G setting, the CCW's paranoid about AIs because of the Automaton Wars(I personally ignore this of the possibility of Space Opera with Digital Gods and Bolos). Don't wanna use that setting and attitude, but don't want AIs dominating everything? Can play it in several ways.
-AI is Taboo---For reasons mentioned only fleetingly, AIs really aren't possible/trusted. Maybe there was something akin to the Automaton Wars, or some ugly incidents that have people not trusting AIs, so the development of Digital Gods is outlawed. On the frontier where belts are tight, it's virtually impossible, and only simple, rugged, workaday drones are common(and on some planets, even those aren't available).

-AI is Here; We Wanna Be Elsewhere---The Digital Gods are already here, running the shiny coreworlds, monitoring the citizens, managing the economies, and slowly stifling human spirit. The frontier is where people go to flee the Quiet Robopocalypse, and Denlechism-style movements are the rage for the colonies. A great way to get the locals in an uproar is to hint that the new colonial administration is bringing in greater networking, run by more advanced AI systems.

-AI is renegade---Advanced AIs and sentient androids on the frontier can be the result of covert corporate development projects, covert government initiatives that could threaten the status quo and peace of mind of the frontier folk, or are renegades who have escaped on their own from paranoid or oppressive central coreworld society and government. Maybe the android is part of a secret government military effort to assimilate the colonies, or a covert miltary buildup against some mysterious threat hinted at just beyond the rim...Or is a super-calculator that got tired of beancounting and decided to go out and LIVE a little.

-AI is Bulky---Robot drones are common enough, but true sentient AIs are big massive affairs tied to big office mainframes or ships, and can only interact with other folk through audio/video avatars or remote control drones. THat may limit the movement of sentient AIs in the setting.

This should be its own thread and, quite frankly, Schlock Mercenary should be required reading for it.

--flatline

[gaby]

I think it,s better in it,s own Galaxy.

[taalismn]

[

This should be its own thread and, quite frankly, Schlock Mercenary should be required reading for it.

--flatline

Or Allister Reynolds. Some of his space opera really blurs the lines between AI and life. 'Spirey and the Queen' for example, when Von Neumann Machines start thinking and pondering the future, and 'The Prefect' where you have TWO very different AIs/Digital Gods both based on human brain patterns, both of which are deadly to Humanity for different reasons.
Admittedly a little too high-brow for 'The Wild West in Space', but good examples of why common people would/should feel uneasy around high-state AIs.