Sci-fi fluff ramblings: how do you like yours?

[Elbows]

Personally I've always been much more of a fan of the idea of grittier science fiction.  Despite my love for Eldar in the 40K universe, if I made my own fluff it'd lean far more towards humans vs. hostile alien forms.  About as far from Star Trek as you can get.  The idea that aliens are just humans with an occasional extra eyebrow is extremely "meh" to me.  It works okay for things like Warhammer which I see as a bit tongue-in-cheek Dungeons & Dragons in space...for "real" science fiction I prefer aliens to be just that; alien.

I figure humankind has enough dangers going to planets with inhospitable atmospheres, deadly infections, not to mention the danger of space travel.  If an alien is discovered I'd expect it to be animal level intelligence (eight legged gelatinous cows which feed on algae?) or an extremely deadly "ultimate predator" ala the Giger aliens.  Settling a vaguely hostile alien world would take hundreds of years, regardless of human technology (short of nuking the planet from orbit - it is reportedly, the only way to be sure).

As far as sentient beings able to travel the stars before we encounter them?  We'd lose.  I always joke with my friends and tell them if a genuine alien space ship ever showed up on Earth, we've already lost.  It would indicate this race is already thousands of years ahead of us in technology - we'd stand no chance. 

[Daeothar]

...As far as sentient beings able to travel the stars before we encounter them?  We'd lose.  I always joke with my friends and tell them if a genuine alien space ship ever showed up on Earth, we've already lost.  It would indicate this race is already thousands of years ahead of us in technology - we'd stand no chance. 

True. But then, I've always been drawn to settings where it becomes apparent that we, Terrans, are in fact the most dangerous species in the galaxy. Primitive and small in number, but the most ferocious apex-predator to have ever developed sentience (and space travel).

There are several series of books that build on this idea, and they're all highly (and guiltily) entertaining...

[Mike Blake]

Fascinating to find this thread at this time, because the group I'm in (Skirmish Wargames) is just about to embark on a SF campaign and has been thinking about this very issue - where/when to set it. For us the solution was under our noses all the time - the rules we use. Our own SF rules (called TODD-STAR, for Tales of Derring-Do - Space Terrors, Aliens & Robots) are cross-genre, ie they are written to enable them to be used to play any of the known SF genres from TV, film, fiction and video games. This is almost their USP, as we all had a favourite genre which we wanted to play some games in. The idea is to allow the mixing of well know SF films and shows and comic books (Serenity/Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, Galaxy Trek, Warhammer 40K, Alien, Predator, Starship Troopers, Flash Gordon etc, retro 50's types like Dan Dare, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers etc and the gritty reality side Blade Runner, Riddick etc and all the SF TV shows too) to be played. We could each take our favourite (or part of one) and then they could interact as ‘factions’ in our own new galaxy. The challenge here is the dearth of suitable 54mm figures – there are some but extensive conversions would be needed too.
 
What we realised was that our setting therefore should be one which was inclusive rather than exclusive - an unexplored area of space containing hundreds of planets and thousands of moons, left on purpose as a sort of buffer zone between the several rival civilisations thrown up by the TV shows/movies etc. This is a wild lawless area; refuge for Pirates, Outlaws, Fugitives etc. Attempts by the various civilisations based on the shows (or indeed straight out of your head.) to utilise or pacify various areas are carried out by stretched lawmen and military forces.

We each do the crew of a small ship; 4 to 6 figs to start, based on the TODD requirement for Stars, Supporting acts and Extras.  We can merge bands to take on officialdom or fight it out between ourselves for the possession of a coveted clue. We could build bars from frontier towns, space stations, mines etc.  We tie the whole thing together with some sort of overarching plot-line; a search for missing treasure/weaponry/mythical religious or rebel leader etc.

and the Black Swan/Kraken Nebula emerged to provide the answer.

Galactic Survey Bureau Report 20160811
SUBJECT: The BLACK SWAN NEBULA (aka KRAKEN NEBULA)
Executive Summary
1.   Basic Information
1.1    Recently discovered and located on the edge of known space, the nebula consists of a core with several ‘arms’ that spiral out from the centre and change location unpredictably.

1.2   At times it appears to assume the shape of a black swan, hence one of the names given to it.

1.3   Located within it are numerous star systems, many with planets and planetoids appearing to be capable of sustaining life forms.

2.   Hazards
2.1   Within the Nebula many of the normal rules of physics seem to no longer apply or  be distorted; it is riddled with worm holes, black holes, shifts in the space-time continuum and subject to ion or other high energy storms which distort sensors and interfere with control systems.
2.2    If has been speculated that these factors may mean that the nebula can act as some kind of gateway or portal to others parts of the galaxy or even other dimensions. This hypothesis is supported by the number of previously unknown intelligent species and spaceships which appear from time to time within the nebula.
2.3    Many of these other species have brought problems with them, including aggressive tendencies which have created inter- , and even intra-, conflict, with ourselves and other visitors to the nebula. Some seek peaceful coexistence or are searching for ways to return to where they came from or on a special quest, whilst others seem bent on conquest (sometimes euphemised as ‘assimilation’), or even simply destruction for its own sake.

3. Nebula Species
3.1   The full report documents the many planets and planetoids discovered so far, which of them are capable of sustaining life and those where full civilisations or colonies exist. Some remain uninhabited by rational beings but are host to alien native species, many of which are dangerous or hostile.
3.2   Some low tech native species also exist, some of which are friendly and curious, whilst other remain hostile to all visitors to their world.
3.3   The natural native flora and fauna runs the full range from carbon based to mineral based life forms and include thinking plants capable of movement and hunting their prey, intelligent crystalline life forms which emit energy and a wide variety of carnivorous plant species.

4. Items of Special Interest
4.1   The Nebula is the only known source of Mysterium. This is a crystalline mineral capable of providing an almost inexhaustible supply of energy which can be harnessed to power vehicles (including space exploration vessels), fuel cities or create weapons of mass destruction. To date only small quantities have been found but many explorers and miners have entered the nebula in search of the mother lode – so far none have returned.
4.2   The Nebula is also the suspected source of what, for want of a better description, has been labelled ‘Anc-Tech’: devices have been discovered occasionally which appear to predate galactic civilisation. There has been intense speculation as to the origin and these artefacts. They have been attributed by some to a ‘Founder Race’ (often referred to as THEM or THE ANCESTORS). So far only small numbers of such technology have been found but governments, scientists and collectors pay huge sums for such objects, even though the purpose of many is unknown.  As many of the planets and planetoids in the Nebula have ruins from an unknown race or races on them, many speculate that it may be the original source of such technology.

5. Recommendations
5.1   The nebula presents both unique opportunities and unique challenges. It is the committee’s recommendation that sufficient funds and resources be allocated to its continued study and that regular exploratory missions be sent into the nebula to explore and examine ways to exploit the unique opportunities it offers.
5.2   Such missions should be two-fold; Overt and Covert.

5.2.1   Overt Missions should be jointly funded by the government and industry, and have goals with clear humanitarian and commercial aims.

5.2.2   Covert Missions should be entirely government funded and operated under the egis of the Department of Planetary Security, reporting to MAJIK; knowledge of all such operations should be on a strictly Need To Know basis only.

[Ajsalium]

Thank you all for your replies. Some good ideas, and much food for thought.

Going back to the settings I've looked at while developing my own (apart from Stargate), these are some and what I've "learnt" from them.

Babylon 5. Back in the day it didn't struck my fancy, because of the alien characters. But that was unavoidable, with Babylon 5 itself being the equivalent to the UN headquarters, wasn't it? It featured a small selection of main alien races, and then some minor ones. My main gripe is that, with the alien races being humanoid, they could have well been different human factions. The overarching menace of the shadows (and their enemies the ancient vorlons) sets the theme for a pan-galactic menace and an overarching plot through the series.

Then there's Farscape. Another one that I missed because I didn't like having alien (yet very humanoid) characters in the main cast. It also had some elements quite fantastic, like the sentient space-ships, or the protagonist's power over wormholes. But other than that, the main plot regarding the peacekeepers, was anything but fantastic in tone (military science fiction, it would be). It also granted a tight and self-contained overarching plot.

In the wargaming world, I'd like to mention Infinity. I think Corvus Belli nailed it in the head with the way they developed the game. It started with a bunch of human factions, that represented the main (current) human civilizations: PanOceania is our western world; Yu-Jing is the amalgamated asian one; Haqqislam is, quite obviously, Islam; Nomads are a nod to the more futuristic cyberpunk elements; while Ariadna cater for the less futuristic look. All with a very manga-inspired aesthetic and cyberpunk elements. And then... the Combined Army appears. An unified empire of different sophonts. In other words, an excuse for the sculptors to create cool minis. Genius, I tell you. A terrific way to integrate the desire to sell more minis, going off a tangent, while still having it integrated in the existing background. With the current third edition they have released the Aleph, that takes the cyberpunk elements up a notch towards A.I; and the new aliens, the Tohaa, for those that don't want to play with humans yet were not attracted to the scattergun approach the Combined Army had (the look of which, by the way, has been standardized into a few races).

[Ajsalium]

One more thing.
From your replies here, and what my friends said when I asked them, I think I have detected the following tendency. It's not too obvious, but I think it's there.

For books, films or tv series, there is a preference towards a more hardish closed setting. Only humans, or humans and very few sophonts. My guess is that allows for more focused and better woven plots; whereas space operas risk turning into a xeno-zoo show (monster-of-the-week syndrome).

For wargames, tolerance for space opera, more open settings, increases. Again my guess is that it's a better excuse to buy minis (the oh-shiny syndrome), and helps cater for all the gamers' different tastes.

[Sinewgrab]

True. But then, I've always been drawn to settings where it becomes apparent that we, Terrans, are in fact the most dangerous species in the galaxy. Primitive and small in number, but the most ferocious apex-predator to have ever developed sentience (and space travel).

There are several series of books that build on this idea, and they're all highly (and guiltily) entertaining...

Examples?  I only know of the Alan Dean Foster one, and that was...less than satisfying.

[Hobby Services]

Examples?  I only know of the Alan Dean Foster one, and that was...less than satisfying.

Foster wrote a short story called "With Friends Like These" that does a much better job with the "apex predator" trope than the trilogy I assume you're talking about.  It shows humanity (or more accurately, Terrans) being re-released in a war emergency after millennia of confinement behind the impenetrable-from-within force field they got caged in nearly conquering the galaxy way back when.  The title should be a clue as to how well that's going to probably going to work out for the rest of Civilization in the long run. 

John Ringo's Posleen series springs to mind as a relatively modern example of the same idea.  Humanity recruited as allies of a largely non-combative galactic civilization against a similarly aggressive reptilian centauroid species and given advanced tech to bootstrap us into being more effective fighters.  Or at least that's the initial premise, and anything else would be spoilers.  We aren't the only "fighting" species out there, but they're rare.

Settings where we're the only aggressive species are fairly rare, but there's tons of early scifi where we're the baddest of the bad.  E.E. "Doc" Smith's entire Skylark series is a pretty good example of humans (mostly just our heroes, really) kicking the stuffing out of anyone who dares to look funny at us, and even Flash Gordon's another fine example of the Earthman conquers the universe concept.

[Hat Guy]

For books, films or tv series, there is a preference towards a more hardish closed setting. Only humans, or humans and very few sophonts. My guess is that allows for more focused and better woven plots; whereas space operas risk turning into a xeno-zoo show (monster-of-the-week syndrome).

For wargames, tolerance for space opera, more open settings, increases. Again my guess is that it's a better excuse to buy minis (the oh-shiny syndrome), and helps cater for all the gamers' different tastes.

Give that man a pint! Bang on. 

"Hard" SF gaming I find pretty dull, with drones, counter-drones, hacking, smart weapons, anti-smart weapons. Something softer or more pulpy and I can have a but more fun. If I wanted to just roll dice and consult tables, I could play Cold Steel.

That said, fantasy and space opera media leave me a tad bored (Dr Who being the exception), maybe it's my Lit/Film background, but I like a little intelligence and consideration in my books, films and television.