Future World

[Sigtrygg]

Does anyone still do anything with the Future World setting?

Every now and then I dust it off and run a game. 

[Sigtrygg]

I have expanded on the world as described in Future World and developed adventure ideas by shamelessly ripping off anything and everything I can find where portals are used to travel from world to world.

Fiction includes Ken MacLeod's Newton's Wake and Peter F Hamilton's Commonwealth series.

Rpgs I have borrowed from include GURPS All Star Jam 1994 Meridian setting by David Pulver and the BRP big gold book for extra gear.

[seneschal]

Other inspirations might be movies or TV shows such as Stargate or Slidees (too obvious?), novels such as The Magician's Nephew or A Wrinkle In Time, games such as Tri Tac's Fringeworthy or Iron Crown's Time Riders.

Edited June 23, 2018 by seneschal

[NickMiddleton]

On 6/20/2018 at 9:34 PM, Sigtrygg said:

Does anyone still do anything with the Future World setting?

Every now and then I dust it off and run a game. 

Well, I wrote, and Chaosium still sell, Outpost 19 in part as a riff on the original Future*World setting ( https://www.chaosium.com/outpost-19-pdf/ ), blending ideas from the original with memories of early Heinlein, and my fondness for Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space and other works and Ken McCleod's various SF works (Newton's Wake among them).

Before the regime change at Chaosium I had started on an attempt to take the new Magic World and create a new Future*World from it - to build a similarly accessible, "broad church" Space Opera friendly generic BRP game  based on the MW rules with suitable adaptations for tech / space travel etc. This was partly an evolution of the "SF core" of BRP rules I've been using for things like my intermittent Space:1889 and 2300AD campaigns.

There was talk of some sort of Worlds of Wonder classic reprint / PDF a few years back - if such were to happen it will be interesting to see if that stirs wider interest in Future*World.

Cheers,

Nick

 

[theodis171]

This would have been nice, since I intend to do cyberpunk/Shadowrun with it. Took a long, hard look at OpenQuest, RD100 and even Mythras, but the Stormbringer rules just do it for me since I first used them in 1989. :-)

Kind regards,

Stephan

[TrippyHippy]

5 hours ago, theodis171 said:

This would have been nice, since I intend to do cyberpunk/Shadowrun with it. Took a long, hard look at OpenQuest, RD100 and even Mythras, but the Stormbringer rules just do it for me since I first used them in 1989. :-)

Kind regards,

Stephan

The Stormbringer rules of 1989 were different to those of Elric! and, following on,  Magic World though.

[theodis171]

Yes I know. I have them both. Only got better. ;-)

Kind regards,

Stephan

[theodis171]

On a related note...

I just dug up Outpost 19 - nearly forgot that I have it on my shelf for years - and read it this time. Fits nicely with what I have in mind. The technophobia of the Gate Wardens and the Quertzl fit perfectly with my other great source of inspiration: Zozer Games' "Hostile" setting (greatly recommended). Just a sprinkle of other-worldly horror added, and a campaign seems good to go (after a test-scenario on a con later this year). I think the only thing I'm really going to change is the fate of the Alpha Centauri main world. It's a pet-peeve of mine, but I like this system since I was a child. So no - every other system is up for blow-up, but not this. 😉

Kind regards,

Stephan

[Sigtrygg]

Is Outpost 19 still available in print or is it only pdf now? It looks like a fine addition to my FW pastiche...

[simonh]

I think one of the major problems with the *World games is lack of flavour. At least Stormbringer and Elric had a strong, recognisable world associated with them. Something to get your teeth into. It’s a major problem even RQ3 faced as a generic system, although at least the RQ legacy and its previous association with Glorantha kept it relevant.

Nowadays games really need to have strong settings to hang the system on. The OSR games actually have that. The D&D setting conventions are actually really well defined and well known, so these lightweight games can hang themselves on that. I really think any new BRP games need to come with a really well presented setting, or support a really well known pre-existing setting and support it in compelling ways. There’s only so much space in the world for generic systems.

Just look at RQG. Apparently it’s out sold the entire historic sales of the Big Gold Book in just a few weeks.

Edited June 24, 2018 by simonh

[ORtrail]

I've almost started a campaign for Future World.  Had some players roll up characters, but the lack of background kept me from actually running any adventures as I wanted to flesh things out a bit more and never found the inspiration/time.  It is still on my "Someday I'll run this" list of RPGs along with Jorune, Space 1889, Tschai Planet of Adventure, and so on. 

Edited June 24, 2018 by ORtrail

[theodis171]

7 hours ago, Sigtrygg said:

Is Outpost 19 still available in print or is it only pdf now? It looks like a fine addition to my FW pastiche...

With a little luck, you can still find it on Amazon - even in mint condition, last I checked.

[NickMiddleton]

18 hours ago, Sigtrygg said:

Is Outpost 19 still available in print or is it only pdf now? It looks like a fine addition to my FW pastiche...

Only as a PDF from Chaosium (and other PDF vendors) - you may be able to source it second hand from elsewhere.

Cheers,

Nick

[seneschal]

11 hours ago, ORtrail said:

I've almost started a campaign for Future World.  Had some players roll up characters, but the lack of background kept me from actually running any adventures as I wanted to flesh things out a bit more and never found the inspiration/time.  It is still on my "Someday I'll run this" list of RPGs along with Jorune, Space 1889, Tschai Planet of Adventure, and so on. 

Because your PCs would be hopping from world to unknown world, you could build a campaign out of random adventure modules and plot seeds:  a medieval fantasy one episode, a pulp jungle adventure next, a noir-ish mystery or flashy super spy caper the next.  Throw in occasional run-ins with gatekeeping bureaucrats or rival alien agents to maintain the overall premise and you have your campaign.  It's Time Tunnel meets Sliders meets Doctor Who with snotty gate wardens subbing for snotty Starfleet Command officers.

Edited June 25, 2018 by seneschal

[clarence]

M-SPACE has been very well received despite lacking a setting. Although I admit that space opera might count as a setting in the Star Wars/Star Trek cornucopia of today. Especially Star Wars works much the same way as LOTR works for fantasy - everyone knows about it and can start playing right away. And both FATE and Genesys seem to do well, despite being generic. It's a complex market. 

Oh, and I highly recommend Outpost 19.

[Sigtrygg]

Future Wold has a setting - it just needs a bit of love and development = and lets face it generic science fiction OSR setting conventions (cough Traveller cough SWN{Traveller rip off} cough) are pretty generically recognisable in the same way as OSR D&D. I run it as planet of the week space opera with the options of introducing technological magic, transhumanism, Cthulhu horror etc as the mood or theme fits.

I remember back in the day borrowing from CoC, Ringworld, Stormbringer and Hawkmoon for what was through the gate that weekend.

Big thanks to NickMiddleton and theodis171 - Amazon UK has several vendors offering them brand new at a reasonable price. Now off to drivethru to get the pdf too

 

[ORtrail]

8 hours ago, seneschal said:

Because your PCs would be hopping from world to unknown world, you could build a campaign out of random adventure modules and plot seeds:  a medieval fantasy one episode, a pulp jungle adventure next, a noir-ish mystery or flashy super spy caper the next.  Throw in occasional run-ins with gatekeeping bureaucrats or rival alien agents to maintain the overall premise and you have your campaign.  It's Time Tunnel meets Sliders meets Doctor Who with snotty gate wardens subbing for snotty Starfleet Command officers.

I would be running it much like a Fringeworthy campaign then.  Future World needs another element, maybe the players are rebels against a corrupt empire that is not even bothering to hide the increased exploitation of the Frontier worlds.  Or a specialized trouble shooting team sent to resolve issues as they come up (which could play out much like a Star Trek 'planet of the week' campaign).  Or a galactic civil war with two successors to the galactic throne, and every planet is going to have to pick a side.  A Cold war with any or all of the alien empires is also an option. 

 

@clarnence: Hey, you are in Sweden?  What are the odds you are playing Tales From the Loop? 

[clarence]

Yes, I'm in Sweden. And, well, I've read Tales from the Loop and enjoyed it very much. It was one of my favourite games last year. Unfortunately, I haven't played it yet. The setting seems to appeal to a slightly different kind of people than most RPGs, which I like. I find the 'kids cannot die' rule interesting.

Have you played it @ORtrail?

[ORtrail]

22 hours ago, clarence said:

Yes, I'm in Sweden. And, well, I've read Tales from the Loop and enjoyed it very much. It was one of my favourite games last year. Unfortunately, I haven't played it yet. The setting seems to appeal to a slightly different kind of people than most RPGs, which I like. I find the 'kids cannot die' rule interesting.

Have you played it @ORtrail?

I have, both with my normal group (ongoing campaign) and a one-shot adventure (strangers) during Free RPG Day 2018.  Regular group is based in Sweden, the single adventure was set in the Columbia River Gorge. 

The 'kids can't die' thing came up during the single adventure, as the player was thinking they could try or do anything and not die.  "True", I pointed out,  "But you can wake up in the hospital having missed the adventure." so he understood there were still consequences to actions.  I don't want to derail this thread though, so if you want to read about TFtL, there is a Google+ group.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/105484572679963357289?hl=en_US

Edited June 26, 2018 by ORtrail

[Sigtrygg]

Now that I am the proud owner of Outpost 19 - nice work by the way - I have a question about the other monograph I have just noticed.

Is Mission to Epsilon suitable for Future World? What are the similarities/differences?

Don't really know why I am asking since it is next on my 'to buy' list...

[NickMiddleton]

Mission to Epsilon is a scenario anthology, not all are SF: iirc there is at least one 1920's Call of Cthulhu scenario in there.

Oscar Rios' Mission to Epsilon is an SF mission

Jeromy M.Schulz-Arnold's A Mortal Coil is a Classic 1920's Call of Cthulhu scenario.

Cabin Fever by Richard LeDuc is a Rubble & Ruin scenario.

Descent, with Modification by Kevin Scrivner  is an "ocean SF" adventure channeling Clarke's Deep Range / TV's SeaQuest DSV

R. J. Christensen's Spacejack! is a Space Opera adventure.

So they can be adapted, but they are not explicitly or even covertly linked to the settings / assumptions of Future*World.

Cheers,

Nick

[Sigtrygg]

Thanks for the info - there is definitely enough in there to warrant the purchase  

[Guest Vile Traveller]

On 6/23/2018 at 3:42 PM, Sigtrygg said:

Fiction includes Ken MacLeod's Newton's Wake and Peter F Hamilton's Commonwealth series.

I'm pretty sure Hamilton had Future*World. One of his main characters is called Sheldon, which is also the name of one of the characters in the Future*World scenario.

[seneschal]

What happens if we substitute Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory"?  

[ORtrail]

On 6/30/2018 at 1:44 PM, seneschal said:

What happens if we substitute Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory"?  

He refuses to use the gates since they shouldn't work, just like bumble bees can't fly. 

In other news, I took my first real look at the map of the city of Wonder from the WoW box set and now I want to use it in an adventure with a time/dimension hopping group of cats. 

Edited July 2, 2018 by ORtrail