Rocketship RoninHere is a write-up of an OVA game concept I have been tossing around. I always do a kind-of "series bible" approach to developing a game to give me the idea of the setting color as well as the game information. As you can see, there is nothing here to tie it to a system as of yet, and OVA is a good fit for me largely because it is very supportive of the "idea first, stats later" approach to game development I enjoy.
Genre Mix: 50’s Sci-Fi spaceship designs and space stations, Chambara-style samurai and ninja, Japanese Horror Movie Spiritualism.
PC Setup: Crew of a cargo ship, the “Shishi”, owned by a Ronin who is trying to find a new purpose in life. They take jobs as needed and travel from port to port.
Setting Basics:
A samurai empire rules the Tengu Galaxy from a strong core of worlds. The Emperor is a puppet of a strong Shogun, whose martial powers are unquestioned. The Emperor is still needed, because of the massive amount of spiritual energy his bloodline in endowed with. As the Son of Heaven, even invoking his name can hold evil at bay for a time. Sutra strips and such are usually bonded to either his family name or to powerful shrines that have collected spiritual energy for this purpose. There are no alien races, but a plethora of evil spirits have been either lingering on alien worlds, or were brought with humanity as it expanded. Priests cannot say which is the case. Some of these spirits have corrupted alien lifeforms, weak humans, or inanimate matter to possess them - leading to numerous types of monsters. All worlds are terra-formed by powerful world-warping technologies. The design of continents, flora, and fauna is left only to the truest masters of Zen form and beauty. Worlds are picturesque and ornamental, regardless of function. Chi-Flow is an important art and mystic advisers aid in the design and placement of everything. This advanced mathematical mysticism is the key to finding the Chi-Channels, ley-line like paths between stars that allow FTL travel. Spirit gates in space act as windows between star systems along these webs of energy. Technology and mysticism are intertwined and no functional difference is recognized by the society. Magic is very numerological in nature and involves webs of energy that are also made use of in the technology and science of the Empire. Rockets are the primary form of space travel and make use of gravity torches, rockets that fire a stream of gravity repulsion particles that looks like a blue flame. Rockets have a very 50's retro look with a Edo-period artistic sensibility. Control surfaces are a combination of katana-handle levers and rice-paper scroll shadow puppet displays. Water bowls with floating needle pinwheels for readout and indicators are also used. Katanas are still the indicator of Samurai status and are both energy-based and tied to the DNA and Auras of the Family line they serve. Tantos are used as the "keys" to the rockets Samurai own. Samurai and Mystics work to fight the dark forces that threaten the people they rule over. While most rulers are beneficent, and Shinto is strong, darkness and oppression do exist and require the intervention of ronin and brave souls to fight against the strongly entrenched, but occasionally unrighteous, leaders. Society is largely feudal and the Samurai caste rule the galaxy by providing the common people protection from bandits and evil spirits. Only samurai may legally own armed rockets, but pilots who are not samurai are possible, as long as they serve the legal owner of the ship they fly. Some Ashigaru pilots are quite famous for their skill.