Planets of SF Author Hats

[Clonus]

So my latest thought is to create a set of planets, each inspired by a the stereotypical elements of a different science fiction author.

 

Asimov is a world where everyone lives in a single vast arcology containing billions and billions of people and robots. While in theory it has elected leaders, the leaders are chosen and controlled by a secret council of psychologists who set policy for the city. Of course they calculate the ideal courses of action using an artificial intelllgence, so really the A.I. is in control.

 

Burroughs is a world where scantily clad women are fought over by scantily clad men using surprisingly primitive weapons considering the bits of advanced technology from past civilisation that are still retained.

 

Heinlein is a world where the men are men and the women are redheads. There is no incest taboo, but since everyone is genetically engineered for looks, longevity and a lack of nasty recessives it doesn't cause much of a problem. Everyone packs a sidearm and a sliderule and knows how to use them.

 

Herbert is a barely habitable wasteland where the inhabitants have become a race of supermen to survive. They're almost as tough as the Smiths, except that they don't have the weapons that can blow up planets.

 

The attempt to colonise Lovecraft did not work out well.

 

The Nivenites are addicted to experimental governmental forms and ambitious engineering projects like arcologies, beanstalks, and flying cities, but it doesn't stop there. Rumour has it that they are attempting to disassemble one of the planets in their solar system.

 

Simak is laid-back frontier world, notable for easy-going backwoodsmen and their strangely philosophical robotic assistants.

 

Smith's Planet is the most militarily powerful world in the known universe, capable of reducing entire solar systems to rubble and populated with men and women who have super human strength thanks to it's high gravity. However, their computer technology is strangely primitive.

 

Vanceworld is filled with exotic cultures in tiny enclaves of baroque architecture each with local customs that involve killing you.

 

White's World is the center of medical research and education for known space, featuring endless expanses of hospitals, academies and pharmaceutical manufactories, serving all without fear or prejudice.

[Egyptoid]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Herbert. Desert Planet. Never one drop of rain.

yet they control vast mineral reserves, and have a hyper-jump capable fleet

that can carry huge amounts of armies and materiel.

 

Nivenworld would be several arcologies linked by teleport disks.

Each arcology would be controlled by a different bureaucracy.

..In one, the oldest and wealthiest would have all the votes.

.. In another, a network of AIs would decide the welfare of the citizens.

.. and one city-state, where they put aggression dampening drugs in the water,

would be governed by a select few who got to take the antidote.

[Steve Long]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Vanceworld, filled with dozens and dozens of strange, exotic cultures which the PCs must navigate through at their peril....

 

 

LOL, this is fun. If I repped people Clonus would definitely get some rep for this idea.

[NestorDRod]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Hmmm, I'll give this a shot...

 

Piperworld, a frontier planet where folks follow age-old traditions despite access to high technology. Tobacco and whiskey are major exports.

 

How's that?

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Asprinworld a world colonized by 95% Humans -- and, Human or not, it's mostly populated by people who weren't really considered suitable for being colonists but insisted on doing so anyway. It's a surprisingly successful colony, though, and has become a significant military and diplomatic outpost under the leadership of Capt. William Merriman.

[Chris Goodwin]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Andersonworld: Colonized over 800 years before Sputnik by a group of humans who routed an invasion force that made the mistake of confusing "low tech" and "stupid", stealing their ship.

 

Smith II (popularly called El Neilworld): An anarchist paradise with less government and more firearms than Heinlein.

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Robinsonworld, a world where a lot of societys fringe folks have gone to settle, along with a fair number of mutants and confused aliens, the aliens tend to just run screaming in terror... exporter of large quantities of alcohol and recreational pharmaceuticals.

 

Weberworld: A very militaristic world with a mostly human population, and a strong military where females are mostly equal, although religious issues in some area have an effect on this.

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Normanworld: a very male dominated planet where women are mostly slaves, and treated poorly at best, mostly very low tech[Earth Medieval]

[Matt Frisbee]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Planet Laumer: a world that is populated with humanity and a large number of self-aware fighting machine relics that occasional come to life to either help or menace society in general.

 

Planet Bova: a highly advanced society where humans have unparalleled luxury and no wants unfulfilled, but still have to solve their differences via barbaric violence in a virtual reality machine.

 

Matt "Bolo and Dueling Machine fanboy" Frisbee

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

RingoWorld: I dunno, just going by the Ghost novels, you could let them invade NormanWorld, and not notice a lot of difference. drop the slavery, but leave all the assorted kink... might fit right in

[Egyptoid]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

WHITE-WORLD:

a vast world, almost fully developed upon, that houses acres

of hospitals, asylums, medical colleges, and produces doctors &

drugs, and treats the sickly from all over the sector.

PLANET SABERHAGEN:

the most horrid place, a world where machine intellects rule,

and they launch termination attacks on the humanity around

them, but they are often defeated by luck, ingenuity,

and the heroically unexpected minor actions.

[Clonus]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Planet Laumer: a world that is populated with humanity and a large number of self-aware fighting machine relics that occasional come to life to either help or menace society in general.

 

You forgot to mention the bureaucratic government full of timid blithering idiots.

[csyphrett]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Stasheff World- Psionics and native material bring legendary creatures to life.

 

Drake World- Home to mercenaries that try to win at all costs, and ships that sail the borders of the universe to reach FTL, and intelligences at war for the future.

CES

[StGrimblefig]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Bradbury:

Most of this planet's cities look like small towns. Odd things happen on Bradbury, but they are mostly isolated incidents. The population is almost all human, with the addition of some very-human-looking robots. Space travel is possible, although the rockets all look like those from 1930s-40s era science fiction magazine covers. Civilization has achieved an almost Utopian ideal, based on the reports of a scientist that traveled to the future and returned safely. They began exploration of their nearest planetary neighbor, and early reports of an abandoned civilization sparked excitement, but contact has been lost with the expedition.

[Egyptoid]

Another Planet in the Guidebook:

 

MOONS of ALLSTON

founded by settlers originally from Lucas-World, its a

constellation of strange worlds defended by squadrons of snub fighters,

which provide space and air cover for the elite squads of psionic warriors,

who launch out to either rescue their nobility from trouble,

or retrieve their lost artifacts from shameful resting places.

[QueenOfItAll]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Clarkeworld: Extremely diverse.

[Sketchpad]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

K-Dick Prime: A world of cybernetics and industry. Where androids mix in with people and the moons have been colonized with corporate interests.

 

Butcher World: A planet like our modern Earth, but that hasn't lost magic and mysticism.

[Maelstrom]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Martinworld: where all the people are interesting, out for themselves, but take forever to actually accomplish anything. May have dragons, but you'll never see them. Low tech

[Maelstrom]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Perryworld: where despite massive amounts of high-tech and interplanetary travel, people fight with a bunch of different hand-to-hand techniques and low-tech weapons.

[Sociotard]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Brin's World Furries eat your heart out. The inhabitants on this world genetically modify their wildlife to create new sentient species, which they do for kicks, giggles, and the street cred it gives them with aliens. Visitors should be aware that surveillance tech on this world is very sophisticated and readily available to the public, to the degree that privacy is more of a polite fiction than anything else.

 

Planet McCaffrey Dragons. What else do you need to know?

[Curufea]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Banks Hedonistic heavily genetically modified immortal humans with electronic backup in case of braindeath live in a crime-free pure democracy society monitored by hyperintelligent AIs that view them as pets. Anything is possible, although the majority of their time is spent interfering with other planets and philosophising about morals.

[Maelstrom]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Banks Hedonistic heavily genetically modified immortal humans with electronic backup in case of braindeath live in a crime-free pure democracy society monitored by hyperintelligent AIs that view them as pets. Anything is possible' date=' although the majority of their time is spent interfering with other planets and philosophising about morals.[/quote']

 

Unless there are special circumstances.

[Midas]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

 

Planet McCaffrey Dragons. What else do you need to know?

 

Yep. Rukbat III.

 

Don't forget Cottman IV, a high medieval society ruled by a cast of half elves.

 

Andersonworld II. A planet dominated by a stagnant empire on its last legs. Several lean and hungry nations watch carefully for any sign of weakness.

 

Midas

[sinanju]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Stirling: A world in which a tiny minority of genetically-engineered supermen (and women) lord it over genetically-engineered serfs. The supermen started out as normal humans in a single tiny nation on an otherwise undistinguished world ,but in less than a century bootstrapped their way to global military dominance. They conquered every other nation on the planet, butchered millions and enslaved the rest. Now, a few generations later, they've engineered themselves to be superhumanly strong, fast, tough and unaging. They've engineered their slaves to be docile and awestruck by them. They've also genetically engineered centaurs and other fantastic lifeforms to live in their vast wilderness preserves to serve as intelligent prey for hunts.

[Curufea]

Re: Planets of SF Author Hats

 

Hubbard A planet of exploding volcanoes half populated by humans that speak their own form of jargon and abbreviations in casual conversation. Psychologist are outlawed and killed on sight. An idealised capitalist regime where the planetary leader is also the richest individual. The other half of the population consists of alien ghosts that are imperceptible to the humans other than through moods and influences of action. The inhabitants worship DC-8 planes and dread the coming of The Emperor.