MarScape 2030
It is set in about 2030 on the CP2020 timeline. MarScape 2030 uses the CP2020 rulebook for character interactions and the Mekton Z rules for Mecha combat (if Mecha combat is included in your version of this game world). The world of Mars in the MarScape 2030 campaign is a world torn by political conflict. There are 40 major factions and all wish to dominate this planet. The air is still unbreathable (you might last a number of seconds equal to your 2xBody attribute – 4x with training), and the areas claimed are vast. This brings rise to even more dispute as factions will claim an area 2100 km (1300 Miles) wide and occupy them with a few domes or maybe even a single city. Many people view the vast open areas between settlements as “up for grabs”. Consequently, there is constant struggle. Most of the factions should be apparent, they are either National governments, CP2020 corps or variations on them. There are two exceptions:
UMBER (United Mars for Bureaucratic and Economic Reform) – This organization has been able to establish a bureaucracy that has lasted since 2026. The factions sided with it would be Arasaka and other “Eastern” organizations. It is important to understand the “Eastern” corps and governments are allied because of their viewpoint, not geography (for instance, about half of the Japanese corps espouse honor and tradition of the “Eastern” philosophy, while the other half embrace change and innovation).
OMEGA (One Mars, Equal Government for All) – OMEGA is a group promoting the idea of a single Martian government. The factions that have sided with OMEGA are the ones that have sided with Militech and other “Western” forces.
I have in mind an eventual organization for this material:
1) History - How did we get here?
2) Geography - Where is here?
3) Politics - What's the problem?
4) Daily Life - What do people do?
5) Technology - How do they do it?
6) Referee's information - Stuff the ref needs to know to do his job, including any rules changes/addendum
7) Designers Notes - Why is it like this, and are there any game balance factors to look out for.
These are political alliances (similar to NATO/Warsaw Pact) they have
colonies but their power relies mostly on their membership. It is important to
understand that this conflict is not of a Cold War type, it is much closer to
Tokugawa Era Japan, with warlords, bandits and shaky alliances.
The
other factions that show up on the political maps are all mega-corps and
governments. The purpose for the conflicts are:
1) Classic territorial
dispute
2) World domination
3) Political
maneuvering
4) Necessity (most of these factions do not have all of
the resources necessary to survive in the harsh environment of Mars.
Finally, some of the disputes are caused by "minor factions", bandits,
squatters, warlords, mercenaries, pirates, etc... Mining is a consideration, but
most of these factions would not be heavily interested in mining. I guess in my
idea of this game world, it is hard to find a single cause for conflict. What
was the cause of WWI? You cannot pin it down to a single motivation, each
country has their own reasons (for instance arms manufacturers would encourage
any sort of conflict on Mars). You also have to remember that Mars colonization
would be a great way to insulate your most valuable assets (say you have a
researcher that you do not want to get extracted out from under you, send him to
Mars). And many execs would relish the idea of escaping the chaos and
over-crowded confines of earth and low-earth space. Finally, some of the most
nefarious criminals could use Mars as an escape plan. In some ways my MarScape
2030 campaign is "ultracyberpunk", because the only people that would be there
would be:
1) The ultra-smart - People capable of building
civilizations from scratch
2) The ultra-powerful - People able
to buy there way off of Earth
3) The ultra-poor - People stuck
building skyscrapers without air or gravity
By this I mean that we see
a hyper-future shock combined with an ultra-divided class (there would be
simultaneous Oligarchies and Technocracies both striving to keep "normal" people
below them).
Gravity, I have decided that the domes generate
earth-like gravity and that mechs and power suits have to be optimized for one
environment or the other.
As far as details about the area
between Earth and Mars, I used the Deep Space Source Book. I kinda see each
faction as a warlord working for their employer via proxy (in other words, the
Arasaka faction does not necessarily work for Saburo, it just receives
communiqués once in a while), This opens up the game world to many more
possibilities (including collusion between Militech and Arasaka to sell their
services to both sides).
Net54 and DMI both have colonies and
satellites. With WorldSat, Net54, Orbital Air, WNS and others, I am assuming
that there are satellites galore in orbit. Also, since they have fragile
colonies each has there own defense forces and strategies. There is a bleak side
to it, even though there is probably 50-100 colonies, that only covers 1-2% of
the surface and to compound matters further, there are no waterways to divide
them or keep intruders from attempting a blitzkrieg-style attacks. The logistics
of patrolling and defending this large area was highlighted when my players had
to setup a patrol route. We figured it would take 6 hours to properly patrol the
perimeter of the Indian colony (the colonies all occupy about the same amount of
space, so this gives an idea of what the colonies are up against). The
atmosphere is still thin and the domes/cities have artificial gravity.
Here is a list of the docs used and what they mean:
MarScape 2030.DOC - This document includes a player handout that has a geographical map and a political map
MarScape 2030 Timeline.html - This document includes a player handout that has the events leading up to this game world
MarScape 2030 Mars Features.html - This document includes a player handout that has a description of Martian terrain and conditions
MarScape 2030 Major Factions.html - This document includes a player handout that has an example of life on Mars and the way people get along with each other.
MarScape 2030 Minor Factions.html - This document includes information about each major faction of Mars
MarScape 2030 Daily Life.html - This document includes information about how most people live their lives on Mars
MarScape 2030 Technology.html - This document includes information about the tools people use to survive on Mars. This file created by John and maintained by me.
MarScape 2030 Referee Information.html - This document includes information about special rules required for Martian environment and house rules I use in this game world.
MarScape 2030 Colony Layout.GIF - This document includes a player handout that has the layout of a typical Mars colony
MarScape 2030 Skills.DOC - I use a special skill system. It does not use packages or points. You pick your skills as you build your life path. This doc explains what skills you can get during each point in your life path.
MarScape 2030 Character Sheet (Both Sides).DOC - This sheet implements the new skills necessary for this campaign and holds all of the required character info
MarScape 2030 Character Sheet (Side 1).DOC - This sheet implements the new skills necessary for this campaign and holds all of the required character info, it is side one of two (I keep it in a separate file so that I can do two sided printing on printers that do not support it)
MarScape 2030 Character Sheet (Side 2).DOC - This sheet implements the new skills necessary for this campaign and holds all of the required character info, it is side two of two (I keep it in a separate file so that I can do two sided printing on printers that do not support it)
MarScape 2030 World Map.JPG - This graphic is the geographical view of Mars included in the Handout
MarScape 2030 Hex Map.JPG - This graphic is the political map included in the Handout
MarScape 2030 World Map - Original.GIF - Is the original Black and white map used to make the Geographical map
MarScape 2030 Links.html - This is a list of CP2020 and Mars-related web sites. It is not comprehensive, but does have all the web sites that I think are the best. If your site is not on here, let me know and I will add it.
MarScape 2030 Archive.ZIP - This Archive file contains all of the above files and this HTML page
Any questions or concerns should be addressed to <DinDenver@yahoo.com>
My thanks go to:
John <john@rossdsc.com> Collaborator on this site
Jean-Sebastien Morisset <jsmoriss@mvlan.net> Host of this site
Karsten Voigt <kv@karsten-voigt.de> - Co-conspirator
Browse to http://www.mvlan.net:8080/~davidm/index.htm to get the latest version of these files.
Back to JS's Personal Home Page (not a bad CP2020 site either)
Legal Disclaimer:
CyberPunk, Cyberpunk, CP2020, Mekton, Mekton Z, Deep Space, Body, Militech, Arasaka, Saburo, WorldSat, Net54, Orbital Air, WNS, DMI and other faction names and marks are © R. Talsorian Games. Reference to this material is in no way intended as a challenge to that copyright or any other legal rights or benefits belonging to R. Talsorian Games.
Use of other Registered or copyrighted trademarks or Service Marks is fictional and is not intended as a challenge to their rights or license to these names and marks. Nor are depictions of these corporations and companies intended as fact or even opinion of these organizations, but intended as an act of fiction for the entertainment of Role-playing Gamers.