Post by Kitsuneko on May 28, 2012 22:10:00 GMT -4
After being struck by plot bunnies, I've been putting together stuff for a new RP Weyr (Quindell). The plot takes place several centuries after AIVAS and the end of thread, and a lot has changed in the intervening turns. Dragons have NOT declined in population, but stayed rather steadily at Interval levels, while their riders have become self-sufficient and are starting to leave the Weyr structure entirely. Part of the plot comes from just exploring the changes that are occurring across Pern as the dragonriders feel out their new roles in society.
The other half of the plot sends it from Semi-Canon into straight-up Non-Canon territory, due to a botched-up First Contact with a (small, fuzzy, lizard-like) alien race. Dragons detect an approaching colony-ship with alien life and mistake it as a dangerous asteroid. They shove it away with telekinetics, aliens view it as an unprovoked attack from what they thought was an uninhabited world, and war breaks out after the ship crashes.
A third plotpoint: Unbeknownst to the Pernese, a rogue group of the aliens started abducting dragons years ago and mucking about with their genetics, leading to three new colors: Purple (female), Red (female), and Black (male). Both female colors can chew firestone and still clutch, though there's a higher rate of dud eggs. But it still has the potential to lead to an overpopulation problem, especially since all dragons have started laying larger clutches due to the perceived threat of the aliens. (I kind of like the system I've got set up for Hatchings: Large gold hatchings once a turn or every other turn, maybe, and smaller purple and red clutches the rest of the time; since there are a lot of red dragons' eggs hatching off-screen one or two at a time all the time, there's also the option to buy a "special" Impression for a given candidate at any time to receive a fully-thought out hatchling without waiting for a festival-style hatching.)
That's a heck of a lot of backstory though, and I think any one of them could be a good setting for an RP Weyr. Here's where I need opinions. Should I go ahead and start the RP after the arrival of the alien race, as I originally planned? Or start somewhere earlier in the timeline and play out the original conflict on-screen, or drop the alien plot entirely? (I like the aliens so far, but it is a heck of a lot to design from scratch.)
The other half of the plot sends it from Semi-Canon into straight-up Non-Canon territory, due to a botched-up First Contact with a (small, fuzzy, lizard-like) alien race. Dragons detect an approaching colony-ship with alien life and mistake it as a dangerous asteroid. They shove it away with telekinetics, aliens view it as an unprovoked attack from what they thought was an uninhabited world, and war breaks out after the ship crashes.
A third plotpoint: Unbeknownst to the Pernese, a rogue group of the aliens started abducting dragons years ago and mucking about with their genetics, leading to three new colors: Purple (female), Red (female), and Black (male). Both female colors can chew firestone and still clutch, though there's a higher rate of dud eggs. But it still has the potential to lead to an overpopulation problem, especially since all dragons have started laying larger clutches due to the perceived threat of the aliens. (I kind of like the system I've got set up for Hatchings: Large gold hatchings once a turn or every other turn, maybe, and smaller purple and red clutches the rest of the time; since there are a lot of red dragons' eggs hatching off-screen one or two at a time all the time, there's also the option to buy a "special" Impression for a given candidate at any time to receive a fully-thought out hatchling without waiting for a festival-style hatching.)
That's a heck of a lot of backstory though, and I think any one of them could be a good setting for an RP Weyr. Here's where I need opinions. Should I go ahead and start the RP after the arrival of the alien race, as I originally planned? Or start somewhere earlier in the timeline and play out the original conflict on-screen, or drop the alien plot entirely? (I like the aliens so far, but it is a heck of a lot to design from scratch.)
