Space. Civilization. Nature.
…I see where this is going. By my own logic, Time or Hope would show up next. Chaos plays no part in decay, and the concept of Emptiness was not established.
An unfavorable happenstance that is ongoing as I speak. The result of this would be… I mean. It is already reality in some parts of the world. Give it a couple more decades, and this could be an RP material that either gives me dread in the present or despair in the future if what I predict now is correct. For what it’s worth, this thought has given me motivation to think more. That’s… something, I guess.
One issue though: I hate making RPs -especially one that is neither fictional nor supernatural-, but this is such a great RP material that I can’t easily put it out of my head either. It isn’t sci-fi; you can literally predict what will happen since the story unfolds in the next century. No space travel, no alien invasion, no fantasy, no ghosts, no supernatural abilities; at best technological advances, really. It all leads into decay– a state worse than stagnation.
There are no ghosts, but you can still have players find lost stories from abandoned buildings in abandoned towns. The cause of civilization’s death isn’t famine, war, or plague. They just… moved out because they couldn’t afford living there anymore. The land isn’t fertile, so they need food to be imported. Trades require exports, but with the populus in decline and resources being finite, it was only a matter of time before there were no more able-bodied workers and/or the natural resources ran out. And that time had long since passed.
Nature had taken over the space where humans once marked their presence. With the integrities of artificial structures no longer being reliable, one would think that it would be safer to use drones or robots to investigate. But why would there be anyone with such equipment in those “ghost locations”? What could be obtained from exploring abandoned cities? (Besides memories and risks of [getting injured] or [death].)
The former inhabitants either abandoned their birthplace or died in it, leaving no worthwhile items behind. The only ones who would even dare to attempt exploring these places would have to be either rich enthousiasts or tourists on vacation. The locals have abandoned their neighbors, and whatever belongings were left behind couldn’t possibly have any value to those who might find it. That is, assuming the items gets found before they are destroyed by nature.
Again: No magic. No ghosts. At best you’d have better tech, like drones or durable lamps. At best you’d recover some history of the abandoned towns, though their value as a story are dictated by the eyes of the tourists you are trying to entice. To this end, you might even lie about your own experiences.
The surrounding environment has become terrible for human survival, and even if the advanced tech you have can help your investigation for a couple of days, there’s no way for them to last long enough for you to fully explore the towns. No amount of batteries and renewable energy sources will help you out when you need food to survive.
No sane project would let the exploration last longer than a month at best, and even if you go for the entertainment route, then it’d be something like a survival show, where participants are dropped off at the target locations, while medics and rescue are on standby on relatively nearby locations.
Is this… still interesting as an RP concept? You can explore what is or will become abandoned towns, but will you find anything noteworthy at all? What do such emptiness have to offer for people who don’t care about the future?
I suppose it might give some characters a moment to review their life and let them share their stories to one another, but… that would change the genre of this concept a bit than the one I had in mind, I suppose. Unlike the exploration on Kronar I, this would be more like exploring other humans’ stories in an undesirable environment. Truly something that can only be enjoyed by those who have the resources to burn…
Why would they even do this? Why in an abandoned town, and not on some private island? What, do the rich people want to play a semi-realistic game of Werewolf/Mafia? That’s so stupid though. Even if you have the food to survive and the environment to entertain yourselves, that very same environment entails old buildings that can collapse into ruin at any time. Do they no longer care if they were to die? They don’t want kids and wish to take the burden of their generation with them, but I didn’t think they would be suicidal. They must have another motive, but what could it be? Was there something to be found in that place after all? Treasure? Inheritance notes? Surely not culture…
I… I don’t know where I’m going with this. Perhaps someone else can use this idea better than me.
