New: Pathfinder (free, open-ended, email, human, space, rpg, abstract)

From: donotreply@pbm.com (PBM List Autoposter)

Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:13:17 +0000

Name:		Pathfinder
Costs:		Free
Email:		sharlene79 zat mindspring.com
Frequency:		2-3 per week
URL:		http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pf001
Type:		Space Opera
Last-Update:		2008Jun02
Keywords: free, open-ended, email, human, space, rpg, abstract

Description:

Pathfinder is a colonization mission set in the early 22nd century under
conditions of secrecy.	The population of the Earth had exceeded the
ability of the planet to support itself � even with off world resources
and recycling systems.	New laws had gone into effect which controlled
pretty much every aspect of life.  And Earth was not without its political
factions � Sedition Factions as they were called.  Several very wealthy
entrepreneurs pooled their resources to build a starship in secrecy �
wanting what settlers of old called �elbow room.�  They hoped to leave the
Earth behind before

The Pathfinder was the size of a battlestar, though not built for war.	It
carried over 25,000 passengers in cryogenic suspension. Some were the
families of the entrepreneurs and scientists that designed the ship.  Most
were chosen for their youth, health, and ability to bear offspring on the
new world.  Most were chosen by a secret raffle by the entrepreneurs.
Four of the key entrepreneurs responsible had decided from the beginning
that they would not be on the voyage, for they knew the world government
would always be watching them.	They chose to remain behind as a decoy.

While the colonists were chosen with some care, the ship was built with
whatever parts they could secret away.	Gear was chosen in much the same
fashion.  More effort was placed into basic survival gear, rations, seeds,
workshops, and such.  Even with all the secrecy the mission almost failed.
 Terran Security detected the exodus and made an attempt to prevent the
ship from making it to lightspeed.  The Pathfinder sustained considerable
damage.

The first two systems the Pathfinder passed through proved to have no
viable planets.  The third system proved to have a marginally habitable
world with a gravitational field very similar to Earth and two moons.
Still, the planet was teeming with vegetation, oceans, weather, and
volcanism. The crew decided this would be their new home � not that there
was a lot of choice.  The damage the Pathfinder had sustained was finally
getting to the point of making a continued voyage dangerous.

Characters must be developed with good backgrounds, describing
personality, education, career, and physical descriptions.  (If you have
ever seen the movie Lost in Space, Earth is not unlike that version.  Or
Babylon 5 � minus all the aliens and stargates.  Yes, a PSI Corp was
forming.  Psionics are possible.)  A profile describing the character for
other players to read will need to be uploaded to the Yahoo group site.
It should include any information the players should know.  A more
detailed version should be made available to the GM.

Please no lone wolves.	I want PC�s that can work well with others.  I
want players to work together.	A solid character will be able to handle
exploration and unexpected situations.	Creativity is a necessity.  Yes,
there will be First Contact situations.  Some aliens will be intelligent
enough to handle translation on their own; others will be primitive.  Some
will be primal and animalistic, but able to understand body language.
Raise a club at them and they WILL get the hint of an immanent threat.
Hand them food and you might start a new trade route.

Players should be able to post 2 to 3 times a week, with average lengths
of posts not less than a few good paragraphs.  The game is rated Mature
(PG-13 to R), with some military violence, appropriate language, some
alien horror.  Fade to Black instituted for those adult scenes.  No
children please.

[ This is a new entry for the PBM List. You can find the list
itself, and instructions for adding games or comments, at
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/pbm_list/ -- greg ]