I've been playing Elite Dangerous & Everspace recently and have been thinking of starting a campaign focused on players being in spaceships for most of their adventures; Do you folks know any interesting fiction I could use for inspiration? Any theme will do, Hard Science, Space Opera, Wierd Fantasy/Gonzo, and any others. Thanks in advance!
Quote from: GiantToenail on March 20, 2024, 10:09:05 AM
I've been playing Elite Dangerous & Everspace recently and have been thinking of starting a campaign focused on players being in spaceships for most of their adventures; Do you folks know any interesting fiction I could use for inspiration? Any theme will do, Hard Science, Space Opera, Wierd Fantasy/Gonzo, and any others. Thanks in advance!
It's more of a horror (on a space ship) vibe, but check out the movie Pandorum, from 2009. It starred Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster. I won't give any more details so I won't give away any spoilers.
Ag.
Ian M Banks. The ships have powerful AI "minds" that look after the residents and engage in intrigues and adventures that most people know little about.
The two series that come to mind are these; Star Trek and Honor Harrington.
Star Trek is easy. In fact I won't bother to even list anything, or RPG's you can use to play in that universe.
Honor Harrington is a set of books, often called the Honor-verse, about a spaceship captain rising thru the ranks from her first command to becoming a fleet admiral in service to the Manticore Star Kingdom.
Technology in that universe is high, with warships primarily firing huge broadside volleys of guided missiles at each other as the zip around solar systems just under the speed of light. As high tech as it sounds, in reality the story is actually trying to replicate the naval battles of the age of sail. Think Master and Commander, replacing black powder cannons with missiles. Even the bad guys are French going thru a political upheaval with ring leaders using similar names to historical French Revolutionaries.
Quote from: GiantToenail on March 20, 2024, 10:09:05 AMAny theme will do, Hard Science, Space Opera, Wierd Fantasy/Gonzo, and any others. Thanks in advance!
You could go with the 'Looks vaguely like German WW2 U-boats, but in space' look from
Robotech....
Also, what size ships? You want battleships and cruisers slowly duking it out for hours, with crews in the hundreds or thousands? Or, small, personal craft crewed only by the players, like the Winnebago from Space-Balls?
All of the shows listed are available on Crunchyroll:
Space Battleship Yamato 2199
Space Battleship Yamato 2202
Knights of Sidonia
Gundam Unicorn
Gundam Narrative
Gundam the Origin
Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans
Gundam
Zeta Gundam
Available on YouTube:
Space:1999
Eckhart's Ladder
Science and Futurism with Issac Arthur - Hard Science Speculative Fiction Discussions
The rabbit hole is deep.
https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/ (https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/)
Quote from: LordBP on March 20, 2024, 06:36:43 PM
The rabbit hole is deep.
https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/ (https://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/)
One of my favorite websites.
You sir, obviously have impeccable taste.
Another site that has a large history.
https://www.orionsarm.com/ (https://www.orionsarm.com/)
Quote from: GiantToenail on March 20, 2024, 10:09:05 AM
I've been playing Elite Dangerous & Everspace recently and have been thinking of starting a campaign focused on players being in spaceships for most of their adventures; Do you folks know any interesting fiction I could use for inspiration? Any theme will do, Hard Science, Space Opera, Wierd Fantasy/Gonzo, and any others. Thanks in advance!
Alien has some interesting "lived in and gritty" spaceship designs throughout it's EU. I'm not the biggest fan of the recent Alien RPG but it has a great amount of lore and lots of ships to pilfer if you want.
Quote from: GiantToenail on March 20, 2024, 10:09:05 AM
I've been playing Elite Dangerous & Everspace recently and have been thinking of starting a campaign focused on players being in spaceships for most of their adventures; Do you folks know any interesting fiction I could use for inspiration? Any theme will do, Hard Science, Space Opera, Wierd Fantasy/Gonzo, and any others. Thanks in advance!
Terran Trade Authority. Start with the book Spacecrraft: 2000-2100 AD. Its the basis for a hex-and-counter game I prototyped.