Gygax75 in the Onycx: Week 1

· rpgonycxgygax75

I’ve been itching to run a science-fantasy (or even science-fiction) game for a few years now ever since grabbing my copy of Stars Without Number. To date none of my attempts at creating a sector of space dedicated to playing in survived, especially when moving. So this time I pulled up the Gygax 75 Challenge, started writing this post for permanence, and got cracking.

The What Challenge?

Long story short, the Gygax 75 Challenge summarizes a five-step regimen to whip up enough of a setting for players to begin a roleplaying game campaign based on a series Gary Gygax, the creator, wrote half a century ago. Emphasis on the “enough” part, as the whole purpose is to get the ball rolling for players to fill the blanks in.

Pacts of the Onycx

The Pitch

It all started with a post in a vain attempt to be funny.

Final Fantasy VIII is some good inspiration for a sci-fi campaign.

Forget elves and dragons; this is peak fiction.

Skipping over how cool but impractical a gunblade may actually be, I was onto something. Granted it would take reflavoring the magic/psionic class to something closer to the traditional cleric but it adds a lot of potential flavor to a post-post-apocalyptic sector.

Guess the details will come later through further fleshing out and through play. This week’s only about vague points anyway so without further ado…

Vying Gods

The collapse of the Directorate was a major blow to humanity throughout charted space. Not only did it ruin any interstellar bonds and trade but it also effectively wiped out the Psions that eventually turned against the populace they helped.

Over time, all manners of eldritch beings popped up in their place, granting the bold and the foolish special powers in exchange for deeds or worship. These are the titular pacts and they play an important role.

What are these gods’ end goals and what schemes are they planning with sophont pawns?

Fantastical Worlds

Explore the Onycx sector! Dive into the corrosive Altiyrian cloud sea for salvage in a subatmo. Sneak to the water world of the Avowed Institutes to seek out a pact. Feel the pressure of how Sasu Macasans came to be. And more! Probably.

The Mystery of Krei Vatha

Krei Vatha somehow became a myth passed down through the ages as the last bastion of the old ways where the Last Director-General oversaw reconstruction after the Psionic Revolt. No one really believes that since there’s no viable rutter to get there with. Despite that, ships belonging to the autonomous corporations destined to Krei Vatha appears other ports’ ledgers. The whole sector is perplexed and gets excited whenever that happens.

But first, they must figure out which ships those are.

Rampant Anarchy

It takes at least a week to receive news of the neighboring world breaking out into civil war or to hear about what a marquis there had for brunch and that’s just within immediate jump distance.

Each world mostly keeps their politics to themselves and any coalitions are merely passive. Not that relativity or metaspace hasn’t stopped people from trying…

Inspiration

I really wish I was more cultured to have better inspiration besides a few titles and making the rest up later.

Next week will introduce us to a map of “the surrounding area” around a town and a “dungeon” (pirate lair or something).