Background Music
Let me preface by saying if you haven't purchased/looked at this game, I'd recommend checking it out. I personally have logged over 70 hours on Steam.
Introduction
It's been millennia since humanity has left the confines of Earth, in search of new territory on the final frontier.
The galaxy, though vast, has been largely colonized by this point thanks in part due to the Johnson-Tanaka drive. The denser stellar regions near the galaxy's center have planets technologically developed beyond the wildest dreams of 21st century humans. Glitterworlds contain people utterly pampered by AI, their physical, mental and medical needs being managed and their every whim fulfilled. In these worlds conflict is a foreign concept, as there exists no need for further gain. As one progresses further from the center however worlds tend to be less developed and stable, as although humanity has conquered the Milky Way they have yet to conquer the fundamental laws that govern the Universe itself.
Faster than light speed travel, deemed impossible, prevents a collective human government from ruling every colonized planet. Enforcing these further out worlds is restricted by subrelativistic communication and travel. As such, control is over at best several systems in close proximity to one another.
So most of humanity, although united in their dream to rule the galaxy, or at least their homeworld, are ultimately isolated by her unconquerable expanses. It is Rimworlds that are situated at the edge of these expanses. These lands are seldom visited and are untamed - they see the least contact with the outside of any type of planet.
For some reason or another, be it a disastrous crash or the thrill of discovery, you found yourself on a little Rimworld in a far off corner of the galaxy. Your world on the rim is unexploited, with minimal human presence and a healthy ecosystem. You thank your lucky stars your journey didn't lead you to a deadworld - a world devoid of life and its necessities. Regardless, without an interstellar-capable ship, you're here to stay.
So it's in your best interest to make the best, of this Rimworld.
Further Context
So hopefully that gives you a bite sized taste of your current situation. A new colonist to one of these many Rimworlds. You may have come here alone, or with people, whether it be against your will or not.
The most important factor to your start is which world you came from to arrive here, which by the way can include the Rimworld itself. You may be a part of the minimal human presence I mentioned in the Introduction. Technological progress is the biggest discrepancy across all the planets under humanity's control. Now these worlds are in order of technological development. Although worlds at lower than 21st century technology exist and are in fact frequent, you will most likely come from one of these below worlds. If you wish to come from a lower technology world and use a reason such as, "I was abducted for testing by a more advanced society," this is fine. But I don't want every colonist being a human test subject.
So you've picked your world and now you need to create an appropriate character and backstory to fit the type of planet you came from. If you'd like some further information on Rimworld items/lore/etc. here are links to the official lore primer and the Rimworld wiki.
Lore Primer
Rimworld Wiki
Application
- Code: Select all
[b]Name:[/b] (First and last name, and if you want, a nickname too.)
[b]Age:[/b] (18 to 150+ if from a Glitterworld)
[b]Sex:[/b] (Male or female, standard stuff.)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (A picture or description)
[b]Planet Name and Description:[/b] (What type of world are you from, what is it called and can you describe your world for us? Features such as moons, surface gravity, atmospheric thickness, seasons, the star it orbits may all influence how humans grow up on your world. This information is important.)
[b]Childhood Backstory:[/b] (Describe the circumstances of your childhood, what happened when you were young that influenced your skill set and personality today? Were you a war refugee, fleeing from a world wrought with conflict? Were you a child of nobility, versed in the way of words and culture? Were you street child, forced at an early age to learn how cruel the world can be? Be creative and realistic.)
[b]Adulthood Backstory:[/b] (Describe the circumstances of your adulthood, what happened when you were an adult that lead to your situation today? This can be both circumstances that happened as well as your occupation you may have had. Perhaps you were a ship captain, leading a vessel that ended up being downed onto the Rimworld somehow. Or maybe a glitterworld surgeon, knowledgeable of many of their miraculous medical marvels that allows their society to exist? Or maybe you were a hermit, abandoning the societies of your world to be one with nature?)
[b]Personality:[/b] (Describe briefly some personality traits or facets your character may have. They should be realistic given your planet and backstories. Glitterworlders were almost never given a reason not to trust people, and Urbworlders are usually the opposite case for example.)
[b]Reason for Arrival:[/b] (Why did you come to this Rimworld, or were you already here to start?)
[b]Items:[/b] (What did you bring to this Rimworld, or what do you currently have on hand if you're already here? Items should be realistic given the technology level of planet from which you came from. Also, those escape pods don't fit EVERYTHING so if you bring too much I'll have to ask you to bring a lil' less.)
[b]Physical Ailments:[/b] (Not necessary, but if you want to make things interesting, add to your backstory, or to be realistic you can add physical ailments here. Could be something as simple as a scar to missing an entire limb.)
[b]Other Details:[/b] (Any other information you wish to describe about your character goes here, be it family, friends or other facets of their life not covered by the above points.)
How It All Works
Alright, you're done your app. Your character has landed on the planet/was there to being with. What happens now?
First and foremost your Rimworld is going to named Frontier, a simple moniker but an accurate one. It is relatively similar to Earth. It possesses a 26 hour day which may require adaptation to get used to, it lacks any sort of moon or natural satellite. It is orbiting a red dwarf within the center of its Goldilocks zone allowing liquid water to exist year round and encourages weather at least reminiscent of Earth. Frontier has an axial tilt almost identical to Earth, but a faster orbital period. This results in similar seasons albeit with less amount of days per season, meaning the challenging winters will come quicker but also end quicker. The four seasons will be separated into quadrums of about 36 days each. Aprimay represents Spring, Jugust represents Summer, Septober represents Fall and Decembary represents Winter. Gravity, average global surface temperature and many other facets are similar enough to Earth that you (in the OOC) shouldn't struggle too much to compare the two planets. However depending on the world your character comes from it may challenge them to adapt, or may be similar enough to their homeworld such that it comes naturally.
No matter where you settle the above description of the planet stays constant. The difference comes in which biome you end up landing in. There will be a poll so everyone can vote on which biome your faction will be living in, and I'll be using the biome list from the wiki sans the hardest ones like ice sheet and extreme desert.
Biomes
The easiest biome is temperate forests. They possess moderate year round temperatures with warm summers and cold winters, but neither of the two are particularly extreme. The growing season is typically between the beginning of Aprimay to mid-end Septober. Animals and plant life are frequent and often non-hostile in nature. Resources are present in moderate amounts. Disease rates are average. Rainfall is average. It's your vanilla biome for an ordinary Rimworld experience where the climate is less likely to fuck you over.
The moderate difficulty biomes are boreal forests and arid shrublands. Essentially they have a greater focus on colder and hotter weather respectively.
Boreal forests contain massive amounts of coniferous lumber, the main upside to settling there. Animals are still on average not too hostile, though the Frontier equivalents of brown and black bears do roam here more than in any other biome. The growing season extends typically from mid-end Aprimay to early Septober, still adequate time to gather crops to freeze for the harsher winter which starts earlier and ends later than in temperate forests. Resources, rainfall and disease rates are average. The main difficulty here stems from longer winters and a shorting growing season.
Arid shrublands contain less trees than the boreal and temperature forest biomes. Animals here are also more hostile than in the previous too biomes as well. The main advantage is that the growing season is year round in terms of temperature, with winters seldom dipping below freezing. However the soil is more arid making growing a challenge, necessitating the use of fertilizers and water to maintain less hardy crops. Summers are also brutal here, making heatstroke a genuine risk for your characters. Resources are present in average amounts, rainfall is less than average. Disease rates due to the hotter climate are higher than in the previous two biomes. The main difficulty for living in the arid shrubland comes from keeping your crops alive, the sweltering summers and more aggressive diseases/animals.
The hard difficulty biome is tropical rainforest. This is the biome with the most hostile and varied animal life by far, expect to be hurt. Not surprisingly you'll never have to worry about running out of wood, but the sheer density of trees may make it difficult to expand your base. The soil is extremely rich and the growing season is year round making crop yields the highest of any biome. Unlike arid shrublands however the heat of the rainforest is also accompanied by humidity, making the summers even MORE of a bitch to survive. Rainfall is very above average and so are disease rates. If you get injured expect the limb to go gangrene unless immediate medical intervention is given. Resources are present in slightly lower than average amounts since the landscape is dominated not by hills and rocks but by jungle. The main difficulty is the heat, the animals, the lack of space and the ever present risk of infection.
And if you guys are feeling particularly suicidal you can try the tundra or the desert biomes. Again with a focus on colder and hotter weather respectively.
Tundras lack the main benefit of living in the boreal forest biome - trees. You'll be hard pressed to find a lot of wood to subsist on. Animal life still isn't a particular worry, and meat may have to become your greatest source of calories due to the short growing season which only lasts the 36 days of Jugust, enough for a few cycles of crops but that's it. Summers are warm, Aprimay and Septober are cold but Decembary will require extensive protection from the elements to survive. A benefit is that raiders will also have to deal with the climate if they wish to attack your base. Rainfall is average but disease rates are much below average due to the cold temperatures, making it the lowest risk of any biome. Resources are present in average amounts. Expect brutal winters, low amounts of food, little sunlight and more snow to shovel then you'll know what to do with.
Deserts may be the penultimate survival experience. Lumber is practically nonexistent, and so are large animals which would give you at least a few days worth of meat. The growing season based on temperature is practically year round, but poor soil conditions, lack of water and blistering heat must all be managed to ensure your crop's survival. Most of the year sans Decembary will require extensive protection from the heat and sun. Rainfall is the lowest of any biome, and disease rates are above average due to the heat. Resources are present in below average amounts. I think practically everything listed here is a downside, but if there is one upside to the desert is that raiders won't consider it worthwhile to attack your colony - like at all. There's better targets who got lucky with their biome and probably have much better shit than you do.
Factions and What I'll Be Doing
After we select the biome you can collaborate with each-other to propose names for your faction, which I'll add to another poll so you can vote on it. Some way or another you'll all eventually join the faction, though not at the same time of course. If Joe Smith's character was already on the Rimworld and rescues Mary Sue's character who crashed in an escape pod for example, their characters could have been running X faction for two months for John Doe's character meets up with them and joins. It will be up to you guys to decide how each new character gets incorporated into your faction.
Now I'll be playing a non-character role, acting as the DM of sorts. I'll be making a story in the background which will play a role in your faction's tale. Every so often I'll pop in to give an event that happens that may be of benefit or could cause your colony's downfall. So you guys will know at a glance whether to say "Hooray" or "Fuck off OP" I'll colour code the events as such.
Red means this event is universally bad, you'll likely have to dedicate personnel, time and resources to ensure it doesn't cause harm to your colony. An example is that a raid by a hostile faction is being conducted on your base, this will require you to muster troops to defend.
Blue means this event is universally good, this will provide some positive boost to your colony to make things easier. An example is that cargo pods could splash down from orbit containing a valuable resource.
Yellow means this event could be bad or good, or just completely neutral. Ignoring it is a respectable option, though following up on the event may interest your colony. Perhaps a grazing pack of wild animals is passing through the area, you could hunt them if you need food, attempt to tame them or just let them pass by.
Finally Green means this is an event of intrigue. It could be story-related, diplomacy related with factions or just plain old information. Green events can be considered a subset of yellow events in a way, though I felt it having a category of its own was necessary. A neutral/friendly faction could have a specific trade deal they'd want you to fulfill for the significant amount of silver.
In addition to events and the story I'll try to somewhat keep the realism in place, because living on the Rim is not easy and it should not be roleplayed as being too easy. In a DND-like fashion I will occasionally roll for things using an online D20 to check whether certain things occur. This could be injuries from combat, infections based on the surrounding conditions and current injuries, success of medical procedures and so forth. I'll mention the specific user in my post if one of the checks applies to them.
This is pretty much all I'll be doing, my posts will likely be more sporadic but full of necessary detail so that every player is on the same page.
Balancing *New*
As you may imagine having advanced technology has many upsides without many downsides to compensate. Glitterworlders, citizens with access to peak human technology, are amongst the strongest and smartest due to this advantage.
In general I'll be adding a maintenance mechanic for weapons, armour and cybernetics. Weapons will require occasional repairs with existing resources, same with armour. Cybernetics are typically built to last their users lifetime, so instead they'll require dosages of mechanites to maintain their integration with the host's body. Staving off cybernetic rejection was ultimately deemed impossible even with Glitterworld technology, and although it is doubtful that Archotech-level AI would work on such a task, you can never know what a god-like consciousness is thinking.
The resources required for these repairs/maintenance will depend on the complexity of the technology. Bolt-action rifles? Just a couple steel units. Charge rifles? Plasteel, gold and steel. For cybernetics it depends on the complexity and amount. More advanced cybernetics require more 'Repairium,' and obviously having more cybernetics also requires more 'Repairium' mechanites. Repairium mechanites, while expensive, are still cheaper than Luciferium mechanites.
The details of the exact maintenance requirements of each item will be in the post below.
Skills *New*
How skilled a colonist is at a particular task will depend on their experience with said task prior to landing on Frontier and their experienced gained living on Frontier. For example, say a colonist was a cook in a fancy restaurant, they'd produce food with less risk of disease and of greater appeal. A colonist with little to no experience cooking would waste their ingredients, make awful food that may spread disease to those who eat it.
Now for the sake of me not micromanaging everyone's stats, I'll use my best intuition and some dice rolls to determine if someone fucks up something they're doing, or performs so well that it actually provides a bonus. Just think skill checks in D&D, and if you haven't played D&D your success in an important action is dependent on how good you are inherently at it plus some luck of the dice.
These skills include: combat, doctoring, cooking, social (trade and acting as a warden to prisoners), crafting/construction, shooting/melee, physical labour/actions (like mining), growing, intellectual. The Rimworld wiki contains all of the skills I'll be using, but I'll cut some out to simplify things like tailoring and artistic.
Da Rules
I expect everyone to follow these rules, most of it should be fairly standard stuff. It will be up to my and the other mods discretion on how to deal with those who break the rules. If you want to be a mod just shoot me a PM and give me some links to previous RPs you've modded and I'll give you some details on how to mod this if you're accepted.
1. Don't be a dick. It's a fictional RP, there's no need to bring hostility to the OOC because of IC events, or just cause you had a bad day.
2. No god-modding/meta-gaming and all that jazz. You can't control other people's characters unless they give explicit permission to do so. You also can't know everything that happens like some omniscient god. You're a person with limitations.
3. Be realistic. Somewhat related to Rule 2., you can't and won't escape every combat unscathed for example. Part of the fun of the Rimworld video game is dealing with the consequences of disaster and adapting. Your character might get injured, your base may get damaged, but you'll have to accept both could happen. Also, things don't happen instantly. Construction, research, healing, etc. may take pages of IC interaction to complete.
4. My and the mod's words are law. I want to interfere directly as little as possible, instead indirectly through events I create to spice up the RP. But if you're breaking the rules we'll have to get involved, like being unrealistically OP in combat or randomly starting IC or OOC conflict without reason.
5. Rimworld is dark so 13+ profanity and gore is okay in moderation. Don't be excessive for the sake of being excessive. Romance/sex is an aspect of the game too, but if it happens here keep it brief, we're not a lusty fan-fiction.
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