18 hours ago, bloody malth said:

I think George Lucas once said that he tried to come up with at least three different environments for each of his films, but I can't find the exact quote.

You can do this in gaming. Think of the environment like another character, and keep it varied, but you can play off of your pc's interests (and your own). Is there someplace you like to vacation or loved going to as a child? Someplace you would like to visit? You can turn that into an encounter setting. Just googling strange landscapes gives me ideas. Is one of your pc's spending all of his/her xp in Athletics, do they get excited over jump packs or always make sure they have zero-g suits? These are clues to the types of environments your players would like to explore. You can ask them more directly too; I often spitfire ideas at my gm that involve the campaign and not just my character.

Okay, as not to drag the topic off course, I'll spin this off into it's own thread. From the depths of the hard drive comes an ancient document (like, the last time I saved this file was 1998 - yes, never throw away anything as a GM), where I was brainstorming interesting planet types and cultures with some other folks. Inspired by what Bloody said, I dug it out, cleaned up and now present it to you guys:

PHYSICAL

* Chromium Valleys - the planet (or much of it) is covered in gleaming silvery rock formations. It looks stunning during the morning or evening, but when the sun's at its full height, the reflected rays will blind just about anyone. Also, the mineral substance interferes with comlinks.

* The natives are invisible to Humans and most other beings that see in the standard spectrum.

* For reasons far too complicated to explain, the gravity of the planet shifts randomly and in random locations from 0.2 to 2.0 (or more, on bad days). This would probably necessitate airborne dwellings and travel, based on a technology that was able to compensate for the gravitic fluctuations. (To outsiders, it might feel like standing on a small boat in the ocean.) It may also have led to an indigenous species evolving strange legs to compensate further. And of course what would happen to the planet's bodies of water . . .

* The natives, roughly half the size of an Ewok, are sentient and mid-tech, very courteous, very peaceful, and pretty smart, but a little parasitic. One attaches itself physically to every being not of its species whenever it can find one, inserting a tube for nutrient extraction into its host's stomach (natural anesthetic juices excreted by the parasite make this a painless procedure for most host species). It's basically like being pregnant -- you have to eat for two -- except the parasite may never want to leave.

* It's a simple agricultural world, no huge settlements, nothing out of the ordinary - except it reeks. I mean it REALLY reeks. Beyond sulfur, beyond decaying vegetation, something about the entire planet just REEKS, and there's no escaping it. We're talking really hard stamina rolls every fifteen minutes just to remain conscious, unless environment suits with their own air supplies are worn the whole time.

(As a variation on the above theme, I find that describing the general smell of the planet is remarkable in getting a good feel. You can be general - "It smells of decay" - or very specific. - "As you step outside, you grimace. In the air is some ephemeric odor...it smells of rotting leaves and wood.")

* The zero-tech planet seems perfectly normal, except that the natives are forty stories tall. Their young would undoubtedly find standard-sized beings endlessly entertaining.

* Most of the planet is composed of a certain mineral that make repulsorlifts not work. So only wheeled vehicles, hover vehicles or beasts of burden are used.

* Poisonous gases, or slightly toxic. Or the air is thick with hallucinogens and suddenly the party's shoes start talking to them.

* Different colors. Who says plants have to be green? Or the sky has to be blue? Don't go overboard with the colors, though. Players will take wild, neon colors for granted after a while.

* Totally different environments: mercury seas, chlorine oceans, bromine lakes, heavy deposits of cesium (cesium explodes on contact with water). These, too can be overdone, so use them sparingly.

* The planet has a very dense, very low orbiting asteroid belt. The belt is so low, dense and orbit-locked that nothing can grow under the belt's thick shadow, thus cutting the planet in two both culturally and environmentally. You could even have real nasty nocturnal beasties which live in the 'Shadowlands'.

* Along those lines, a planet where the sun is so dangerous that any light is seen as a dangerous evil. . .

* The planet has a very low orbiting moon, so low in fact that the moon and planet's nearest surfaces are torn up and held in orbit between the two bodies (note that the moon is locked geostationary above the planet). This debris forms a small asteroid-corridor between the planet and its moon. A consequence of the bodies being so close is that gravity is VERY disrupted on both. The far-side of the planet has light-gravity, approaching heavy as you near the asteroid-corridor, the gravity is likewise screwed up on the moon. Thus different species and civilizations have evolved on each side, incapable of surviving the gravity and environment of the other's terrain.

A further modification is to have the planet's ocean so disrupted by the gravity that the asteroid-corridor is actually 'flooded', the ocean covers some of the near-side of the planet, through the asteroid-corridor and a little way onto the moon. This also allows (very strong) oceanic vessels to traverse from the planet to the moon. A further consequence is that the planet's far-side will be pretty much water-less, resulting in a Tatooine like place.

* A planet where a high ambient radiation level is the norm. The local species need the constant radiation to prevent premature aging, killing off their rapidly-dividing cells. Thus if you take any of the natives off-planet they rapidly age and die, like their bodies are naturally cancerous

* A broken planet, maybe destroyed by a prototype Imperial planetary Bomb that proved too unstable to transport, nomads in zero-gee suits still manage to exist, trying to piece together the broken parts of their now shattered planet and cultures.

* A soundless planet where sign language is the only spoken word. The natives don't leave the atmosphere because they generally go mad.

* A world where the only habitable zones are the twilight zones of the planet, that the equatorial zones are just too hot. Thus the natives all spend their time in twilight, and are pasty skinned, etc.

CULTURAL

Cultural differences are hard to come up with, unless you've traveled extensively and have some grasp as to cultural differences. You have to look at all cultures, including your own, with an open mind, and take out bits and pieces. What things do we do? Why do we do these things? What if history had been different, and we did these things differently? How else could we have done those things?

An example: Someone sneezes. You say something like "Gesundheit," or "Bless you," or "Jesus." This response started in the middle ages, when to sneeze very likely meant you had a disease. And diseases were very fatal back then. So people would try to stave off any disease by saying "God bless you," hoping the Lord might help the person. In modern times, it's just a response, and has lost all meaning. So think about that origin. What if people who sneezed were regarded as sinners, being punished for their crimes by a disease? What if a sneeze was thought to be some kind of magical incantation (could be good or evil)? In those cases, a person might be shunned, or regarded as impolite, or in the incantation possibility, immediately assumed to be either nice people, or evil ones.

* Do-It-Yourself Surgery: The natives are baseline Humans, similar to most others in every respect but one: when someone gets injured, they are responsible for fixing themselves. No natives will offer medical help, and will look disdainfully upon those asking for it.

* The planet was visited once, eons ago, by a Jedi Healer. Since then its low-tech inhabitants have developed a religion based on visitors from the sky, and if a new group of visitors should land, they will be wined, dined, and treated as demigods . . . until they fail to miraculously heal some sick people. Or a planet where a comet or asteroid fell from the sky and now everything that comes from the sky is seen as a cataclysmic event. . . .

* Cannibal Planet, the inhabitants of the world consume their dead family members, believing it keeps their souls closer together for eternity. Visitors are rare and therefore accorded one of the culture's highest honors: participation in a family funeral-feast. Also, the natives view burial or incineration as repugnant and sinful.

* The sentient but very-low-tech natives have no concept of time. Their memories are as undeveloped as a cow's, and they only speak in the present tense. Perhaps this is because they never see their sun, and/or the skies and weather never change.

* The native species, space-tech and possibly near-Human, place religious reverence on grisly, painful self-mutilation. However, being spacefarers, they are aware that offworlders may not share their strong stomachs. So, when visitors come to their world, they're nice about not forcing them to mutilate themselves; they take care of it instead. Can't offend the gods on the homeworld, ya see.

* It's world where like any other... except 20 or 30 years ago there was this terrible plague which wiped out two thirds of the population. The population has recovered a bit since then. But the plague was carried via organisms that fed on electricity (dodgy science, but hey it's Star Wars!). So, no electricity is used on the planet in case the plague comes again, which would make for some eerie scenery. And of course, when the characters arrive, with their ship and their lightsabers

* Certain colors can mean different things. For example, in our culture, black means death. But in other cultures, the color can be white, yellow, purple, etc. So Orange is a sacred color and the X-Wing pilot and his flight suit is assumed to be the leader or high priest of their tribe.

* The ecology of the planet can give rise to interesting customs. On a planet with very intense sunlight, it could be a sign of respect to stand so as to give the other person some shade. On a desert planet, spitting and crying are very sacred acts, since water is so precious. (check Dune for more ideas about desert planets).

* Religions have shaped the world's cultures. Maybe it's sacrilegious to say certain things. Perhaps certain days of the week are "holy" and you can't drive or do certain things on those days.

* How about a race that is very high tech, but have a command system of their own. They are a peaceful race who have disdain for military ranks, but consider Technicians to be the leaders. Their own chief is the most knowledgeable tech.

* Everybody on the planet is considered a child and unworthy of notice unless they go through a rite of adulthood, which means slaying a large native creature with hand to hand weapons only. Any of the characters who can do this must not speak to other members of the party, as so as not to offend the natives. This leaves you in the strange positions where only the combat orientated characters - generally not so good in interpersonal skills - as the only ones permitted to speak and deal with the leaders of this planet. Kind of like how pilots are the most respected in on Adumar.

* Perhaps it is respectful to share your wives/husbands. Or that only "family" may speak, so to be able to speak to members of this society, one of your party must marry into their family.

* Along that same line, what about the co-mingling of blood. Basically you need to mix your blood in this vast pool, then drink some of it, to show that you're all part of one whole. Good way to give your players some strange disease.

* To welcome you, the natives have a huge feast. At this feast, the PC's learn they must exchange gifts. The PCs go about their day, until they learn the whole tribe has been invited - yes, 2000 tribal members who each require a gift. This is a good way to have your PC's who have too much stuff be forced to give some away. On the other hand, your PC's could score some really cool gear.

* Perhaps you could have a drug that is partaken of in the welcome celebration. Of course, this drug can also do other things... Maybe it wipes out their memory, and when your PCs come back to themselves, they find themselves standing over several dead bodies.

* How about a strict martial society. The sole purpose that this culture revolves around is combat. In order to gain respect one must defeat individuals in hand-to-hand combat. So if your gang of favorite rebels have to negotiate with the leaders their going have to spend about week or so fighting people who get progressively better.

Yoink! consider this "borrowed"

Love this.... I shall be "borrowing" it too

As Desslok implied, you can mine our own world for cultural idiosyncrasies.

Even at home, with no one around but us, I'm not allowed to jab my chopsticks point down into a bowl of rice because of my girlfriend's culture. She's not even Shinto or Buddhist, but like many cultural mores, it has transcended being purely religious (in funeral rites in Japan, there is usually an offering of a bowl of rice with the chopsticks stuck point down in it, so it's a death taboo). Her grandmother would not buy fruit in the grocery store in multiples of four because the word for "four" in Japanese is so similar to the word for death (this apparently is pretty common). And white is the color of death in Japan, not black. Dead bodies used to be considered unclean and were handled by the lowest social caste (that's a pretty ancient belief, but remnants of it still persist). In our own (western) culture, it's considered taboo to walk on a grave, to wear anything other than mostly black for a funeral, or be to be loud, rambunctious, or gregarious during the funeral rites. Military and State funerals in the U.S. are even more complex, with rules for riderless horses, buglers, number of guns fired, and other things. You can play with these cultural beliefs to make a normal-seeming human world foreign and exotic. Did they not offer half of their food to the dead upon landing? Did they not wait the customary 7 hours before landing? Is it a group of six pc's? ooh bad luck and death.

While Turkey is often considered the most Western of middle eastern nations (at least before the recent coup attempt and the rise of modern extremist jihadist groups in neighboring nations), it has its own interesting cultural differences. It's a crime to badmouth Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. It is a secular muslim nation and they have their own wine regions, but they put water in raki, their national liquor. The oils in raki turn the concoction cloudy and white when water is added, which supposedly makes it look like they are drinking milk, not an alcoholic beverage, because of the muslim taboo against drinking alcohol. It didn't seem like anyone was fooled when I was there, but several natives laughingly told me this probably apocryphal story while I was there. There are cats everywhere in Istanbul, just docilely hanging out on the streets. They're strays, but they all act sweet and domesticated because everyone feeds them and pets them, but they don't spay or neuter them.

Some really good stuff here.

I was just listening to some old time radio shows, and X Minus One had a story from Phillip K Dick that might be worth our consideration. A society that has been forced into underground cities by an atomic war has been using automatons to continue to wage war against The Enemy. As the radioactivity is so intense, man has not set foot on the surface in decades, they receive updates and footage of the terrible fighting between the two factions.

The truth? That the war ended as soon as the humans evacuated because the droids could not see a rational purpose for it. Analyzing history, they found that groups of humans warred with each other until they matured to overcome conflict, so they maintain the illusion for the humans down below while the planet heals itself. Could be a fascinating senario for the players to find themselves in - leave the droids status quo and leave the downbelow citizens 'prisoners' or tell them the truth and set loose this warring blight on the world again.