Coriolis - der 3te Horizont
Arba, der 1te Tag im Segment des Boten im Zyklus Z163 (64CZ)
Scope
The motivation behind building Coriolis - der 3te Horizont
This page accompanies the pen and paper roleplaying game in the world of Coriolis, which has been running for over 3 years with the same group. It contains important places, characters, ships, plotlines and twists which are composed of the original campaign of Coriolis as well as Homebrewed and is played regularly every 2nd Sunday from 2pm till 7-8pm.
The goal of the project
This page reflects the active game, the development of the Coriolis universe (as played by us and accompanied by the creators in a main campaign) as well as the actions of the players in a persistent world that develops with and without the help of the players. There are countless plot threads that have their own resolutions and can either be furthered, suppressed or ignored by the players.
Coriolis - der 3te Horizont's Unique Selling point
The world of Coriolis - as planned by the creators - consists of only a few really elaborate systems, much is only hinted at. My world, on the other hand, consists of 36 fully developed star systems for the Coriolis base game, hundreds of NPCs, ships, locations and (invisible to the regular reader) plotlines that are dynamically orientated to the past time of the world. There are no rollbacks or similar ‘backups’. What happens, happens. If important characters die, this can have a major impact on the course of an entire metaplot (of which several are active at the same time). The goal of my players in this world is not to solve everything, but to live and develop in it, taking care of what is important to them and living with what otherwise develops - for better or for worse. I think that - as well as the fact that this world has been developing for 3 years (ingame and in real time) - makes it a special place. I am also personally developing this world further and am currently rolling out the 4th horizon (100% homebrew).
Theme
Genre
Coriolis can be described somewhat as a space opera or more detailed "Arabian Night in Space" which is not completely true anymore in my setting as i play it more diverse. Somewhere in a future that has lost a lot and had to accept technological regression, different horizons with different philosophies collide with a “mysticism” of portal builders, past civilizations paired with a touch of what is called “magic” in other systems. Depending on how it is played, it is a fast-paced, sometimes combat-heavy and loss-laden game - or a form of character development from a simple traveler to a company owner with far-reaching power. Whatever the players want can become possible.
Reader Experience
The world feels like a tangible environment (at least when I'm running it). NPCs and factions have their own advantages and disadvantages, motivations and storylines that some players like and others hate. The factions act independently of each other and literally any npc can get his own unexpected epic rise or fall if they are in contact with the players of my world and will react according to their own fixed plans and guidelines with uncertain outcomes. For the players, this creates the impression that the world feels real and that their actions within the world may not carry as much weight, but the deeper they develop in a certain direction and expand their relationships within the world, the more impact they have. I think that's what makes it so appealing.
Reader Tone
The mood is gloomy to threatening with many bright spots and hard setbacks. The enemies seem overpowering (which they certainly are) and the deeper the players' knowledge becomes, the more they understand that they are only scraping at the tip of the iceberg that is growing beneath the surface.
Recurring Themes
Politics and discovery. A large part of the world is built by the players' interest in the plot and the available locations unlocked by theyr discoverys. Plotlines literally open new doors to other worlds - or diplomatic options. The 4th Horizon for example opens up more than 1 year after initial planed as the players only recently discovered the "key" trigger for revealing this secret.
Character Agency
Even with a reduced XP allocation as recommended, all players have maximized everything they want with their characters (if not deceased) - without really having maximized everything. But stats aren't everything. Even the best stats require good equipment and even after 3 years, my players have achieved a lot and accumulated a lot of wealth, but as Coriolis intended, much of it has been invested in running costs. In their current state, they have a large class 4 ship, a class 2 shuttle, an asteroid station and a small mining station on a moon (as group property) which can be constantly expanded and developed with invested assets. One player who left and moved his Charakter to a NPC even owns a small shipyard he could bring back to new glory. The game offers many years of potential for growth and development and i try to keep motivating them with adjusting trading and science as well.