For a while now, I forgot about BSO: it just wasn't all that around in my head because I wasn't running anything space opera related. However, now with a copy of Machinations of the Space Princess, the game has returned to occupy my head. On the surface these two would appear to be night-and-day: Baroque Space Opera is a byproduct of the storygame crowd and has a setting which stress the sense of grandiose and wonder while Machinations is a bit more rowdy, lurid, has characters likely to be scumbags.
What I propose is this: the two aren't mutually exclusive and in fact compliment each others very well.
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| The BSO cover alone should sell you on the setting and what style of scifi it is aiming for. |
Setting Basics and Presentation
The setting of Baroque Space Opera would form the core identity and base. It is a setting set in the very far future (or is it past?), steeped with baroque imagery and ruled by a posthuman elite who are bound in impossibly arcane traditions of rulership in order to promote their imagery as gods. When looking at the society of the Dominion, the viewpoint presented in the BSO book that it is an orderly society steeped in traditions, strict social positions and impossibly obtuse rules is true. However. That is how the Dominion see itself or at least how it choose to present itself. Initially this would appear at odds with how Machinations present itself, calling its own game as 'Sexy, sleazy’ swords & Sci-Fi’.Well, as most of you should know, societies which are extremely bound by rigid rules tend to breed a lot of backroom bullshit. The way I see it, the society of the Dominion as presented in the core BSO book is somewhat more idealized, even if it is called the Tyrantine Dominion. What I mean by 'idealized' is that it make the posthuman rulers seem, while not necessarily noble or good, somewhat above the petty human needs of sex and money. This, however, is a facade. Given this is a setting which combine mythological imagery with science fiction, presenting the higher society of the Dominion as all a bunch of secret bastard, perverts, greedy scumbags and con-men doesn't seem all that implausible. In fact it seems the most logical. They may be bound by tradition in public and around each others in a formal setting, but what about behind closed doors? My theory is that there is a massively seedy side to the higher society of the Dominion which is kept under a very tight lid.
Of course, this isn't going to completely describe the entire setting because of the simple reasons that I was briefly active on the BSO Google+ group and I'd rather not copy paste that entire book as I'm fairly certain this would be a poor idea. Trying to explain all of the Baroque Space Opera setting in one post is like trying to explain Warhammer 40 000 or the expanded Star Wars universe. It is, simply put, impossible. As such I hope this post at least hint enough at the setting to make sense without going into complicated lore breakdown.
Space Scumbags
The Baroque Space Opera setting has a lot of room for characters more in line with what is presented in Machinations. There is plenty of room for pirates, raiders and other scum of the galaxy-type characters at the edges or in the cracks of the Dominion. What this mean is that this option gives a GM a pre-baked setting to establish who is who, what is what and who hold the reins on what while still allowing himself and the players a lot of freedom on the basis that the planets and places described in the book are usually those under stricter Dominion control. These aren't the places where the characters would be adventuring anyway, not unless they are deliberately there to sabotage or steal something.
Killing For Profit
The posthuman elite of the Dominion do not fight each others: that would be utterly barbaric. However, as one would expect, what is done in the shadows is a completely different story. Sabotage and assassinations are the rule of the game and this open up another style of games where the players are Proxicutioner and their allies and agents. They infiltrate and they kill to complete their missions and ensure the 'Feud by Proxy' is a success. The dark truth is just how little is actually sacred to the Gods.
Battlemasters!
The other major option would be to play as Battlemasters and their allies/retinue. The Battlemasters were once an order of human warriors (think Metabarons meet Jedi) but they have fallen in disfavor with the Dominion since their glory days. Many of the younger Battlemasters wish for their orders and families to once again regain the power and glory of the past and seek out adventure, working as mercenaries to the Dominion and/or its enemies. The Battlemasters are a very good choice for high octane, high action adventures and would arguably be even more interesting outside of a 'storygame'.
Character Options & Races
What is any RPG without some list of 'things you can be'. The Baroque Space Opera setting is impossibly vast but it has several things which are prime character material.- Human (Regular and Transhuman): Obviously, the setting has humans. They come in a staggering variety, from mostly-identical to 21st century baseline human to odder mutations and genetic alterations. Here, the term 'human' mean anything which is either akin to a baseline human or some variation which is not one of the posthuman elite. These include variations for lower or higher gravity or aquatic humanoids or stranger crossbreed of human and alien genetics. This category, in a way, also include any human-like alien or anything forming the lower classes of society.
- Elevated Human: Mechanically, the Elevated are no different from the other human types. What's different about them is their cultural role as the retainers and servants of the posthuman elite.
- Pharisto: The Pharisto are the deipotent, the oft mentioned in this post posthuman elite. Taller, smarter, more long-lived and extremely bound by pomp and rituals the Pharisto are seen as Gods. Playing a Pharisto in a more low-key game would mean one plays a renegade of some kind or perhaps one whose life has been ruined by politics and now the character lives in exile.
- Theor: The Theor are a variant of the Pharisto template and are comparable to the Mentat of Dune, what with their history as coming into being to replace machines. While they are deipotent like the Pharisto they tend to be more reclusive, more cerebral and overall quite detached from the pompous politics.
There are other beings in the setting but not all of them are suitable for player characters, namely the Genesis Adept and just about everything they create. Befitting the bio-punk and transhumanist elements of the setting there exist a special type of Deipotents loyal to the Tyrant called Genesis Adept, which are expert at cloning and bio-engineering. The reason they would be a very poor choice for a smaller game is that, as per the lore, they have the innate ability to compel their creations. There are even more unusual and potent options, such as the supersoldier Dominar or the shape-shifting Mirror Men but outside of a storygame these might just end up a tad too powerful by default.
The Alternate Option
Of course, there is another option for me: which is to run this setting not with Machinations of the Space Princess but rather Stars Without Numbers, in which case a lot of which has been written so far applies with a few added things, namely that certain options could be highly specific classes and/or Foci for 'heroic' characters, which is to say playing SWN with the type of mechanics found in Scarlet Heroes or Godbound.- Amarenthine: They are those individuals (usually mostly Pharisto and Theor) chosen by the Tyrant to be gifted with immortality; they never age and cannot die. They are comparable to the Inquisitors of Warhammer 40k in terms of setting role, even down to some being sanctioned psychics who can use their normally-illegal gift for the Tyrant's agenda.
- Dominar: These genetically engineered super-soldiers are the ultimate troops in the Dominion. They are strong, hard to kill and most importantly short lived and easily controlled (relatively speaking). Their setting niche is similar to the Space Marines but personally I find they remind me of the Jem'Hadar from Deep Space Nine.
- Mirror Man: Each Mirror Man is identical and they really hate this fact. Fortunately, they are shape-shifters and as such as highly useful agents able to assume almost any shape and infiltrate the ranks of enemies and rivals.
- Remnants: Before the outlawing of machines, the Remnants were the Dominar. Essentially, they are the previous model which has been discontinued and forgotten by history. Each is a monstrous amalgalm of posthuman flesh and machinery.
- Transmuter: They are Theor wizards using nano-technology. That's basically it in a nutshell.
Of course, in addition to this, Heroic Battlemasters, Heroic Elevated, Heroic Pharisto and regular Heroic Theor would be an option.
