BEHEMOTH 2039 - A dystopian near future setting
Posted: 05 Dec 2018, 08:16
Hello,
I found my way into these forums mostly as a consequence of a conversation with Jackson Malloy on reddit. There I proposed the hacking of the combat rules for a modern era setting and got some nice feedback. The thread can be found here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/a ... _firearms/
Since I am a student at a german university I have quite some free time. I love designing settings and so I thought it would be a great opportunity to share with you my ideas for a low sci-fi polit-fiction setting that takes place near the end of the 1st half of the 21st century. I wanted to create a setting that is different from the cyberpunk cliche where big corporations are the main thread to society. So I took a very recently real life example(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/opin ... right.html) to design a setting in which Europe get's overwhelmed by a fascist uprising that puts markets into balance and that puts a strong emphasis on genetic engineering. It's kind of a Biopunk setting, if you want to. I, obviously, was highly inspired by the fascist parties of the 1920s and 1930s. I would be pleased if you would give me some feedback and tell me if the setting seems interesting to you, too.
A inspirational Pinterest can be found here: https://www.pinterest.de/traeumeer/behemoth-2039/
It's the year 2039 and the European Union lays in shambles. A long-lasting economic crisis that began in the late 2020s and just ended 2035 made it possible for neofascist groups to seize the power and redefine the shape of Europe. After a quick but devastating civil war in Germany a fascist party is in charge over the heartland of Europe. After Germany it was Italy that fell to the fascists, then Britain and as the youngest victim France.
But how could it happen? Why did nobody stand up to this? Was it a coup planned long beforehand? Nobody knows the answer exactly.
The fascism of the 21st century wears another face, though. The streets are clean, poor and rich are conciliated under the banner of the nation and violence is not the first choice to maintain order. At least on the surface this seems like a well functioning system that the majority of the people seem to benefit from. Technology didn't stand still in the last 20 years, but the long awaited technological progress as depicted in the sci-fi books had never be achieved. Progress had been made in the genetic sciences, though, and the regime makes use of this: Not only is it possible since the 2020s to design a human being to ones preferences but now it is even law that a humang being has to meet certain standards - a agenda to ensure that mankind can overcome itself.
But you know better. You know the mechanics that are in play to deceive the masses, the wrong promises, the violence that takes place behind closed doors. You are part of the Resistance. A group of people that plans to overthrow the regime and install democracy anew. In a world where the demilitirisation of the masses puts the balance of power in imbalance, your tools are skulduggery, stealth and a good training in the martial arts to overcome your enemies.
I found my way into these forums mostly as a consequence of a conversation with Jackson Malloy on reddit. There I proposed the hacking of the combat rules for a modern era setting and got some nice feedback. The thread can be found here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/a ... _firearms/
Since I am a student at a german university I have quite some free time. I love designing settings and so I thought it would be a great opportunity to share with you my ideas for a low sci-fi polit-fiction setting that takes place near the end of the 1st half of the 21st century. I wanted to create a setting that is different from the cyberpunk cliche where big corporations are the main thread to society. So I took a very recently real life example(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/opin ... right.html) to design a setting in which Europe get's overwhelmed by a fascist uprising that puts markets into balance and that puts a strong emphasis on genetic engineering. It's kind of a Biopunk setting, if you want to. I, obviously, was highly inspired by the fascist parties of the 1920s and 1930s. I would be pleased if you would give me some feedback and tell me if the setting seems interesting to you, too.
A inspirational Pinterest can be found here: https://www.pinterest.de/traeumeer/behemoth-2039/
It's the year 2039 and the European Union lays in shambles. A long-lasting economic crisis that began in the late 2020s and just ended 2035 made it possible for neofascist groups to seize the power and redefine the shape of Europe. After a quick but devastating civil war in Germany a fascist party is in charge over the heartland of Europe. After Germany it was Italy that fell to the fascists, then Britain and as the youngest victim France.
But how could it happen? Why did nobody stand up to this? Was it a coup planned long beforehand? Nobody knows the answer exactly.
The fascism of the 21st century wears another face, though. The streets are clean, poor and rich are conciliated under the banner of the nation and violence is not the first choice to maintain order. At least on the surface this seems like a well functioning system that the majority of the people seem to benefit from. Technology didn't stand still in the last 20 years, but the long awaited technological progress as depicted in the sci-fi books had never be achieved. Progress had been made in the genetic sciences, though, and the regime makes use of this: Not only is it possible since the 2020s to design a human being to ones preferences but now it is even law that a humang being has to meet certain standards - a agenda to ensure that mankind can overcome itself.
But you know better. You know the mechanics that are in play to deceive the masses, the wrong promises, the violence that takes place behind closed doors. You are part of the Resistance. A group of people that plans to overthrow the regime and install democracy anew. In a world where the demilitirisation of the masses puts the balance of power in imbalance, your tools are skulduggery, stealth and a good training in the martial arts to overcome your enemies.