Post by Marli on Sept 26, 2012 23:38:19 GMT -5
Howdy!
So, a while back I had thrown out the idea of a Dragon-Western game called 'The Hive' (working title) that had been brewing in my head for a while. I posted a bit of info on the world and its inhabitants, but quickly sent the game back to the metaphorical drawing table when I realized it wasn't yet well formed enough for me to start penning anything. The idea has still been in my head, but I'm still not *quiet* enthused enough or sure enough to start up the game soooo I thought I might ask ya'lls opinions. I'm just gonna use bullet points and ya'll can work with me from there. Good, Bad, and Ugly thoughts on the thing are all welcome. ^_^ I think everyone was imagening slightley diffrent games in their heads so I'm gonna try to give an idea of what I was thinking specificly.
1. First off, tech level of the game would be sort of a 'so high tech as to be low tech' if that makes sense. Though technology in the world might be extremely advanced the average 'settler' would live a very low tech day to day existence (with the exception of the occasional cool steampunk gadget.) I want the game to have a definite 'Classic Western' vibe while still also possessing sci-fi elements. I'm not sure how exactly to pull this off, but I'm working on it. Basically, the average settler would be a sort of 'poor steampunk' while the more affluent settler (or government official) could be anywhere from steampunk to diselpunk-ish.... I want it to have the feel of an old sci-fi novel, like pre 1960's at least but yea... basically I have no idea what I'm doing. XD
2. Going along with the 'Western' feel, the game would be set on a planet with an atmosphere reminiscent of the American West but more extreme (and dangerous). Water is very scarce, often only found in underground caverns (not quiet as extreme as book of Eli but thats where I'm pulling the idea) and outside of the towns its very likely to run into some shady characters (or the natives! but I have no idea what I'm gonna do with those so I'm gonna just sit here and hope Logos gets inspired and writes a anthology. {though no pressure friend, RL happens}). The climate varies but its mostly arid and semi-arid with lots of deserts, scrublands, hill country, prairie and the like. I would actually try to go into detail about climate before starting the game as it would affect day to day living. People ride around on horses (obviously not native to the area) though other modes of transportation are not off limits.
3. The Biggest and Baddest of the Big Bad Beasties on this planet are a reptilian species called 'Dracs' or 'Dragons' depending on who you ask. Drac's are carnivorous (feeding mostly on some large herbivore yet to be invented but also the stray horse, cow, or child). They live in massive 'hives' built into the canyons of the planet, with these hives being similar to a bee's hive in their structure. As such, while there may be regional variations in drac species there are also three distinct 'types' in each colony.
- First and foremost you have the queen. Similar to the Queen in your typical hive of honey bee's the Queen of a Drac hive is responsible for reproduction and is the mother of all the other dragon's in the hive (really, do your self a favor and research honey bee socitey, these things are giant killer bees except they drink blood instead of nector basically). Fed a special diet from a young age, their appearance is vastly different from either the bulls or the drones (I've got pics, not showing them yet) and they are also several times larger. These would be and element in the game but your character wouldn't actually ride or fight them (too valuable, and too willing to kill you). Queens are very intelligent but not in a sentinent way. Think really intelligent killer animal rather than 'somewhat human in concious'.
- Second you have the 'Bulls' which would be equivalent to a worker bee, their job is to hunt for the hive as well as protect the queen. Despite their name, Bulls are actually all females they are, however, sterile. When you think of what a Dragon is, your probably thinking something akin to what I imagine a bull to be. These are the dragon's that characters would ride and also the big money winners among fighting dragons (Drones can also be fought). Bull's bond to their humans who become a sort of surrogate Queen to them, and may even learn to master human speech. They are not intelligent in a 'Inheritance Series' dragon way, however, and would be more akin to the dragons from the Pern books in intelligence and overall mannerisms. You could play posts from a Bull's point of view, however they are not true characters. Bull fight's are 1x1 but unlike drone fights arn't *always* fought to the death. Depending on the rules of a particular match, a bull's master is either riding her or standing int he arena providing direction during a fight. Here's a pic of what I'm imagening (roughly) -->www.umnet.com/pic/diy/screensaver/10%5C5993c800-f9c4.jpg
- And Last, we have the Drones. Just like in a bee hive these are males whose only real purpose is to mate with a queen. Much more Serpentine than a Bull, Drones are also much smaller starting out as creatures only about 6-10ft long. They do have wings but unlike those of a bull they are quasi-vestigial and are more used for gliding short distances than sustained flight. They are fairly intelligent (though not near the intelligence of bulls or queens) but cannot master or understand human speech. What they lack in intelligence, they make up for in aggression. Drones are only produced when the queen needs to mate, at which time huge quantities of their eggs are deposited onto a canyon floor by the queen. At the base of the canyon, the drones grow, peacefully at first but soon turning cannibalistic as they reach sexual maturity (Since, afterall, they want to be the one to mate with the queen). Because Drones never stop growing (as long as they continue to feed themselves) the strongest drones are allowed to grow the largest. Some time later, the queen emerges from deep within the caverns of her hive and goes on a mating flight through the canyons at which point the drones attempt to fly her. While bull fights are generally considered more exciting than drone fights, the rarity of bulls (and difficulty trianing them) makes drac fights very popular. Drac's are 'wrangled' by Dragon Jock's (young, not-yet-fighting riders) or even ropers on horseback (if they are small enough) and brought into large stables where they are forcibly kept apart (b/c 9 times out of 10 if they see another Drone or a Bull their gonna try to kill it) untill they reach a certain size. Then they are put in pits together to fight to the death.
Drones are more of a day to day problem for settlers as they are more likely to go after small game. Drone -> fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/132/f/d/desert_dragon_by_f0xyme-d4zi4tp.jpg
3. The industry (fueled by gambling) that surrounds these fights is huge and dominates most of the local economy. Most of the people who watch the fights are 'off-planet' (why, how, idk). Basically how this is works is that, for drone fights anyone who can capture a drone can fight it, Bulls however are diffrent. First off, you can'g get into a hive unless you've somehow managed to 'bond' a queen (which most can't do) and if you can't get into a hive you can't train up a young bull. It is powerful individuals known as 'Dragon Barons' who tend to 'own' the hives that Bulls and Queens call their homes (Drones are outside the hives on the canyon floors) so really, short of being an incredible theif the only way to get a bull-hatchling is to somehow be in cohorts with a Baron.
It take's a bull 7yrs to be fully up to fighting age which has created a strange system where children (often orphans, runaways, or sold to baron's by their family in payment for depts) are paired with a bull as early as 10 years old (though it can also be later).
I'm still working on the system, but its a rough world to live in needless to say.
Ok, so the plot.
1. I don't want to do a war. At least not a 'Cowboys vs. Indians' war. I want to follow the lives of people involved in or affected by the dragon-fighting industry and build a story within that. Still having issues with this. 'Cowboy vs. Native' tension will definently exist, and its quiet possible that Dragon Barons especially would hate the natives for one reason or another but I'm still working htis out.
2. Logos had mentioned the idea of a quest. I'm not opposed to this, but its also not exactly what I'm looking for.
... And its late and thats all I got.... yea.
Any thoughts?
So, a while back I had thrown out the idea of a Dragon-Western game called 'The Hive' (working title) that had been brewing in my head for a while. I posted a bit of info on the world and its inhabitants, but quickly sent the game back to the metaphorical drawing table when I realized it wasn't yet well formed enough for me to start penning anything. The idea has still been in my head, but I'm still not *quiet* enthused enough or sure enough to start up the game soooo I thought I might ask ya'lls opinions. I'm just gonna use bullet points and ya'll can work with me from there. Good, Bad, and Ugly thoughts on the thing are all welcome. ^_^ I think everyone was imagening slightley diffrent games in their heads so I'm gonna try to give an idea of what I was thinking specificly.
1. First off, tech level of the game would be sort of a 'so high tech as to be low tech' if that makes sense. Though technology in the world might be extremely advanced the average 'settler' would live a very low tech day to day existence (with the exception of the occasional cool steampunk gadget.) I want the game to have a definite 'Classic Western' vibe while still also possessing sci-fi elements. I'm not sure how exactly to pull this off, but I'm working on it. Basically, the average settler would be a sort of 'poor steampunk' while the more affluent settler (or government official) could be anywhere from steampunk to diselpunk-ish.... I want it to have the feel of an old sci-fi novel, like pre 1960's at least but yea... basically I have no idea what I'm doing. XD
2. Going along with the 'Western' feel, the game would be set on a planet with an atmosphere reminiscent of the American West but more extreme (and dangerous). Water is very scarce, often only found in underground caverns (not quiet as extreme as book of Eli but thats where I'm pulling the idea) and outside of the towns its very likely to run into some shady characters (or the natives! but I have no idea what I'm gonna do with those so I'm gonna just sit here and hope Logos gets inspired and writes a anthology. {though no pressure friend, RL happens}). The climate varies but its mostly arid and semi-arid with lots of deserts, scrublands, hill country, prairie and the like. I would actually try to go into detail about climate before starting the game as it would affect day to day living. People ride around on horses (obviously not native to the area) though other modes of transportation are not off limits.
3. The Biggest and Baddest of the Big Bad Beasties on this planet are a reptilian species called 'Dracs' or 'Dragons' depending on who you ask. Drac's are carnivorous (feeding mostly on some large herbivore yet to be invented but also the stray horse, cow, or child). They live in massive 'hives' built into the canyons of the planet, with these hives being similar to a bee's hive in their structure. As such, while there may be regional variations in drac species there are also three distinct 'types' in each colony.
- First and foremost you have the queen. Similar to the Queen in your typical hive of honey bee's the Queen of a Drac hive is responsible for reproduction and is the mother of all the other dragon's in the hive (really, do your self a favor and research honey bee socitey, these things are giant killer bees except they drink blood instead of nector basically). Fed a special diet from a young age, their appearance is vastly different from either the bulls or the drones (I've got pics, not showing them yet) and they are also several times larger. These would be and element in the game but your character wouldn't actually ride or fight them (too valuable, and too willing to kill you). Queens are very intelligent but not in a sentinent way. Think really intelligent killer animal rather than 'somewhat human in concious'.
- Second you have the 'Bulls' which would be equivalent to a worker bee, their job is to hunt for the hive as well as protect the queen. Despite their name, Bulls are actually all females they are, however, sterile. When you think of what a Dragon is, your probably thinking something akin to what I imagine a bull to be. These are the dragon's that characters would ride and also the big money winners among fighting dragons (Drones can also be fought). Bull's bond to their humans who become a sort of surrogate Queen to them, and may even learn to master human speech. They are not intelligent in a 'Inheritance Series' dragon way, however, and would be more akin to the dragons from the Pern books in intelligence and overall mannerisms. You could play posts from a Bull's point of view, however they are not true characters. Bull fight's are 1x1 but unlike drone fights arn't *always* fought to the death. Depending on the rules of a particular match, a bull's master is either riding her or standing int he arena providing direction during a fight. Here's a pic of what I'm imagening (roughly) -->www.umnet.com/pic/diy/screensaver/10%5C5993c800-f9c4.jpg
- And Last, we have the Drones. Just like in a bee hive these are males whose only real purpose is to mate with a queen. Much more Serpentine than a Bull, Drones are also much smaller starting out as creatures only about 6-10ft long. They do have wings but unlike those of a bull they are quasi-vestigial and are more used for gliding short distances than sustained flight. They are fairly intelligent (though not near the intelligence of bulls or queens) but cannot master or understand human speech. What they lack in intelligence, they make up for in aggression. Drones are only produced when the queen needs to mate, at which time huge quantities of their eggs are deposited onto a canyon floor by the queen. At the base of the canyon, the drones grow, peacefully at first but soon turning cannibalistic as they reach sexual maturity (Since, afterall, they want to be the one to mate with the queen). Because Drones never stop growing (as long as they continue to feed themselves) the strongest drones are allowed to grow the largest. Some time later, the queen emerges from deep within the caverns of her hive and goes on a mating flight through the canyons at which point the drones attempt to fly her. While bull fights are generally considered more exciting than drone fights, the rarity of bulls (and difficulty trianing them) makes drac fights very popular. Drac's are 'wrangled' by Dragon Jock's (young, not-yet-fighting riders) or even ropers on horseback (if they are small enough) and brought into large stables where they are forcibly kept apart (b/c 9 times out of 10 if they see another Drone or a Bull their gonna try to kill it) untill they reach a certain size. Then they are put in pits together to fight to the death.
Drones are more of a day to day problem for settlers as they are more likely to go after small game. Drone -> fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/132/f/d/desert_dragon_by_f0xyme-d4zi4tp.jpg
3. The industry (fueled by gambling) that surrounds these fights is huge and dominates most of the local economy. Most of the people who watch the fights are 'off-planet' (why, how, idk). Basically how this is works is that, for drone fights anyone who can capture a drone can fight it, Bulls however are diffrent. First off, you can'g get into a hive unless you've somehow managed to 'bond' a queen (which most can't do) and if you can't get into a hive you can't train up a young bull. It is powerful individuals known as 'Dragon Barons' who tend to 'own' the hives that Bulls and Queens call their homes (Drones are outside the hives on the canyon floors) so really, short of being an incredible theif the only way to get a bull-hatchling is to somehow be in cohorts with a Baron.
It take's a bull 7yrs to be fully up to fighting age which has created a strange system where children (often orphans, runaways, or sold to baron's by their family in payment for depts) are paired with a bull as early as 10 years old (though it can also be later).
I'm still working on the system, but its a rough world to live in needless to say.
Ok, so the plot.
1. I don't want to do a war. At least not a 'Cowboys vs. Indians' war. I want to follow the lives of people involved in or affected by the dragon-fighting industry and build a story within that. Still having issues with this. 'Cowboy vs. Native' tension will definently exist, and its quiet possible that Dragon Barons especially would hate the natives for one reason or another but I'm still working htis out.
2. Logos had mentioned the idea of a quest. I'm not opposed to this, but its also not exactly what I'm looking for.
... And its late and thats all I got.... yea.
Any thoughts?