Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

[Steve]

I'm putting together notes for a post-apocalypse campaign centered around a surviving arcology, one that has developed a caste system over a century or two. I've been trying to put together a caste system, and I'm looking for ideas. Here are some of the castes I've come up with.

 

Archivist

Entertainer

Programmer

Science

Security

Technician

Worker (the lowest caste)

 

I'm also considering having each caste have a distinctive color uniform. I don't want to overwhelm my PCs with a caste system as complex as India's, but I'd like to have enough variety to cover a fair amount of backgrounds.

[Karmakaze]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Where would you place child care in this?

 

Also, medical care.

[Susano]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

You could go with the Paranoia angle... with Infrared at the bottom and Ultraviolet at the top.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Where would you place child care in this?

 

Also, medical care.

 

Medical care I think would fit pretty well under Science caste, since there is so much overlap between medical doctors and scientists.

 

Child care may also qualify under Science caster, since I'm considering having the majority of children be born in artificial wombs. Certain castes may be more likely to support more traditional family units. I'm considering having Programmers be the highest caste.

 

Religion is something I have to think about. It would make for an interesting caste, but it would probably be a pretty fractious one. Although I could also make religion more of a personal thing, and not create a caste around it. Or maybe it is a secret society sort of thing. Hmmm.

 

There are actually two types of species origins for PCs: genetically-upgraded humans and humanoid replicates (with abilities very much as they are presented in Surbrook's excellent book 'Kazei 5'). Replicates are second-class citizens created to serve the genetically-upgraded humans. Most of them serve as workers who are supervised by human overseers from the Worker Caste.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

You could go with the Paranoia angle... with Infrared at the bottom and Ultraviolet at the top.

 

I'd considered Paranoia for reference, but the color scheme security levels are not quite I'm looking for. I definitely am considering borrowing the notion of the computer being in charge like in "Logan's Run."

 

The PCs will actually be mainly adventuring around outside the arcology, with their experiences transmitted back for entertainment purposes, a sort of reality TV death sport. For some PCs, it will be a way of improving their lot in life, if they can stay alive against the worst that the Wastelands can throw at them. For others, such as Security caste, it would be a punishment for some sort of crime they've committed. I'm picturing it as a cross between "The Running Man" meets "Logan's Run" with a healthy dose of "Kazei 5" thrown in for good measure.

[Karmakaze]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Religion is something I have to think about. It would make for an interesting caste' date=' but it would probably be a pretty fractious one. Although I could also make religion more of a personal thing, and not create a caste around it. Or maybe it is a secret society sort of thing. Hmmm.[/quote']

 

You could always go with Mystic as a catchall. Either that or wrap religion under Archivist.

[Susano]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

I'd considered Paranoia for reference, but the color scheme security levels are not quite I'm looking for. I definitely am considering borrowing the notion of the computer being in charge like in "Logan's Run."

 

The PCs will actually be mainly adventuring around outside the arcology, with their experiences transmitted back for entertainment purposes, a sort of reality TV death sport. For some PCs, it will be a way of improving their lot in life, if they can stay alive against the worst that the Wastelands can throw at them. For others, such as Security caste, it would be a punishment for some sort of crime they've committed. I'm picturing it as a cross between "The Running Man" meets "Logan's Run" with a healthy dose of "Kazei 5" thrown in for good measure.

 

If the computer's in charge, you could make the computer the religion. Toss in a little Warhammer 40k with "tech priests" and the like. To be really cruel, the tech priests know *exactly* what they're doing and all of the mummery is for show. On the other hand, if things are bad, then the priests might really think all of their prayers and rituals are what make things go.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

If the computer's in charge' date=' you could make the computer the religion. Toss in a little Warhammer 40k with "tech priests" and the like. To be really cruel, the tech priests know *exactly* what they're doing and all of the mummery is for show. On the other hand, if things are bad, then the priests might really think all of their prayers and rituals are what make things go.[/quote']

 

Hmmm... that gives an interesting twist on the Programmer Caste. I'd originally considered making them the nobility/highest caste, but the idea of throwing religion into the mix gives them an intriguing feel. There could even be secret cults in the shadows that worship ancient, bloodthirsty gods with fearsome names like COBOL or FORTRAN.

[Susano]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Hmmm... that gives an interesting twist on the Programmer Caste. I'd originally considered making them the nobility/highest caste' date=' but the idea of throwing religion into the mix gives them an intriguing feel. There could even be secret cults in the shadows that worship ancient, bloodthirsty gods with fearsome names like COBOL or FORTRAN.[/quote']

 

Or... Mac versus Windows! Or Unix versus DOS... and then there are those Linux freedom fighters!

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

My original idea was an arcology based on a post-apocalypse Earth. The comments about the Programmers being tech priests got me to thinking about changing the setting to having it be aboard a vast generation ship, something like the old Metamorphosis Alpha. The PCs think they are on a planet, exploring beyond the arcology they call home, but it is instead one of many biosphere constructs filling the bowels of the ship. The Programmers can arm the intrepid explorer PCs with the few security codes they still remember (signs and tokens to offer the guardian spirits) that will alow them beyond their home base.

 

This will allow me to do various types of 'Lost Worlds' and 'Planetary Romances' using the different biospheres.

 

One idea I had was a jungle biosphere inhabited by the descendants of 'Lynx-class' or maybe 'Puma-class' replicates of the Kazei 5 setting. Amazon catgirls.

 

What would be a good method to allow travel between the separate biospheres? Shuttle tubeways of some kind or would some kind of teleport technology be viable?

[Susano]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Go with teleports -- very World of Tiers in effect.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

You could always go with Mystic as a catchall. Either that or wrap religion under Archivist.

 

Mystic might make for an interesting caste. One of the reasons I'd like to use castes is because it gives me a convenient way to set up packages. I might borrow some of the structure of the Bajorans from Star Trek:DS9 for a loose religion. With the computer in charge, it could have put together a religion after the cataclysm that damaged the starship from bits and pieces of surviving datafiles. It could even have some elements of Shinto, with individual subsystems or terminals being like local spirits. Maybe the Programmers are the only ones allowed datajacks.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Go with teleports -- very World of Tiers in effect.

 

Good point.

 

Which seems better? Star Trek style transporters or gateways of some kind?

[Susano]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Good point.

 

Which seems better? Star Trek style transporters or gateways of some kind?

 

Gateways... like StarGate, because it's more fantasy.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

One downside I can see to a generation ship would be that resources would be limited. If gate technology existed, I suppose I could still use a planet. The gates could lead to other arcologies or locations in fallen cities. Finidng a map of the old gate network would be a story arc in itself.

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

One classic gate idea is that a gate starship is more or less like a railway line advancing across the prairie. Once it gets to the new system, you have a gate connection with the paradisical New Earth, and a billion humans come leaping out, heading for the unspoiled beaches of a new life.

Taking that seriously, the generation ship would have a live connection to Earth.

If Earth is a postapocalyptic nightmare, it is mainly an adventure locale, until the day when the generation ship actually reaches the new planet and the connection goes live. Then things start getting interesting.

Actually, this would be a great swords-and-planets setting. Long ago, the Lemurians sent out their colony ships. In the game I referenced above, the best opening strategic move turns out to be to have several gate probes arrive at once. Imagine if, in 1938, gates are opening up in the high Pamirs, the Empty Quarter and the deeps of the Matto Grosso. If the Nazis get there first, what are they going to discover? About those worlds, or the Lemurians?

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

I now have this image of a sort of Post-Apocalypse Stargate campaign. Humans invent or aquire interstellar and intra-planetary gate technology, settle across the galaxy using it and maybe STL or slow FTL seeder ships to spread the gate network, and then the galactic society falls apart, worlds sealed off for some reason, maybe a computer error in the gate network leading to a new Dark Age. A galaxy-wide post-apocalypse campaign.

[The Weapon]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

One downside I can see to a generation ship would be that resources would be limited. If gate technology existed' date=' I suppose I could still use a planet. The gates could lead to other arcologies or locations in fallen cities. Findng a map of the old gate network would be a story arc in itself.[/quote']

 

Generation ships can be pretty big. If you assume they just dug into a 20 km radius moon, volume = 4/3 * PI * (radius * radius * radius) = 33510 cubic kilometers. Each cubic kilometer of contains about 900 million metric tonnes of water. Each cubic kilometer of rock weighs 2,700 million and 13,000 million metric tonnes based on earth values.

 

Such an environment would be very different from conventional ones in terms of social connectionedness. Nothing is more than 40 km away if there is a direct route and no more than 63 kms if you have to trek across the surface. Even assuming you waste 90% of your time doubling back a lot and you waste 90% of your time in tunnels you should still be able to make the other side in 100 hours of walking. You could do it in 2 weeks easy. So it's a small world, right?

 

Well not really. You see even assuming 90% of the world is still and we have 20 meters from "below ground" infrastructure to "ceilings" that still leaves 33510 *.1 /.02 = 670,000 square kilometers of habitats. About the size of Burma/Myanmar and larger than France. If they only have 4m of height you have as much area as India. So there's room for tens of millions of people in that 2 week easy walking distance. But are they actually accessible? For safeties sake there would be independent life support systems and barriers to prevent any contamination getting from one to the other. Behind a few hundred meters of ice and rock might be an undiscovered world. You're mining a rich seam one day and suddenly you break through to find a settlement filled with people uncontacted by outsiders since the central communication system went offline. How many generations ago was that anyway? Some of the genemods they have are strange. So are many of the technologies (some "sufficiently advanced") they developed or had smuggled aboard so many years ago. Some of these places carved their own territory out of the rock without telling anybody, just left their assigned chambers with mining tools, hydroponic kits and minifactories to repair them and have been scrounging their own oxygen and materials ever since. Others have been tossed out of one of the main sections with enough to survive for a while. They struggle, short of supplies and terrified of gangs of others like them desperate enough to turn to banditry. Secret passages and deathtraps are valuable against brigands, as are genetically engineered creatures, who escape sometimes. Sounds like a great place for your deathsport. Plus the "arcology" would need to know if some other force were advancing through the "Between" perhaps to invade them.

[Steve]

Re: Suggestions for caste system for post-apocalypse arcology

 

Terrific ideas. Thanks!