I try not to think about these things when it comes to Star Wars, which is hard for me. I try to think in terms of space fantasy and visual locations, so I would be tempted to just use a tunnel system under the city with cables and conduits of various types. That would provide an escape route and you could put encounters down in those tunnels from either sentient dangers or wildlife intruding on the tunnels. Underground tunnels have a stable cool temperature that might be too cold for a lot of the natives in the city, and added to that the dangers in it you might have something that isn't often explored. Or it's just there but doesn't get used, that seems to be a star wars thing too. Like some of the areas in Cloud City/Coruscant, essentially technology wilderness areas.
Edited by ArchlytePoop and pee on Tatooine!
1 hour ago, Archlyte said:I try not to think about these things when it comes to Star Wars, which is hard for me. I try to think in terms of space fantasy and visual locations, so I would be tempted to just use a tunnel system under the city with cables and conduits of various types. That would provide an escape route and you could put encounters down in those tunnels from either sentient dangers or wildlife intruding on the tunnels. Underground tunnels have a stable cool temperature that might be too cold for a lot of the natives in the city, and added to that the dangers in it you might have something that isn't often explored. Or it's just there but doesn't get used, that seems to be a star wars thing too. Like some of the areas in Cloud City/Coruscant, essentially technology wilderness areas.
For the most part, I think most players don't think about these things either. Which is fine, but sometimes the idea can make for an interesting story. I mean, just look at Dune. The entire culture of the Arakeens, and the Fremen in particular, is massively influenced by the availability of water. It influenced every aspect of their society, culture, and religion. So trying to do something like that in Star Wars, I think is very valid. The problem is, at least the types of guys I game with, they just don't really give a shite about stuff like that. They just kind of blink and stare at you, possibly with a non-committal shrug and a dis-interested "ok?" So while it might be fun for fleshing out a location, it might just crash and burn at the table, because nobody else is as interested in that level of detail to the setting you came up with
My pop scifi/fantasy genre it's generally best to steer clear from actual math and science....
I'd hate to be a Sewer/Civil Engineer on Coruscant....
34 minutes ago, ExpandingUniverse said:I'd hate to be a Sewer/Civil Engineer on Coruscant....
How about elevator repair tech?.....window washer?....
Walkway Safety Rail Installer on Coruscant. Best job to have ever.
2 hours ago, KungFuFerret said:For the most part, I think most players don't think about these things either. Which is fine, but sometimes the idea can make for an interesting story. I mean, just look at Dune. The entire culture of the Arakeens, and the Fremen in particular, is massively influenced by the availability of water. It influenced every aspect of their society, culture, and religion. So trying to do something like that in Star Wars, I think is very valid. The problem is, at least the types of guys I game with, they just don't really give a shite about stuff like that. They just kind of blink and stare at you, possibly with a non-committal shrug and a dis-interested "ok?" So while it might be fun for fleshing out a location, it might just crash and burn at the table, because nobody else is as interested in that level of detail to the setting you came up with
Man you said it. I think there must be some generality to that because it's been my experience that no one cares lol. Maybe the tensile strength of narration is much more fragile than I have suspected given that in a game I am playing in the description-heavy pacing makes me crazy.
1 hour ago, ExpandingUniverse said:I'd hate to be a Sewer/Civil Engineer on Coruscant....
The waste from billions of beings and so many species. Nightmarish
42 minutes ago, KungFuFerret said:Walkway Safety Rail Installer on Coruscant. Best job to have ever.
"How has your career gone?"
"Fantastic! Nobody has noticed that I haven't done any work in 46 years now, beyond submitting my expense report before the 3rd of every month."
36 minutes ago, Archlyte said:Man you said it. I think there must be some generality to that because it's been my experience that no one cares lol. Maybe the tensile strength of narration is much more fragile than I have suspected given that in a game I am playing in the description-heavy pacing makes me crazy.
It's possible, though I think it's more likely, that the average gamer mindset doesn't really care about what they consider extraneous details. They are only concerned with the details directly related to them and their mission.
Patrick Rothfuss put it really well at a panel once, talking about how authors usually have some thing they love, that they sneak into their books, but that usually only resonates with a small % of their readers. For example, Tolkien was a huge language fanatic, hence why it was in all his stories, to the point of boredom for many people. Or how Patrick himself, is an economy freak, so in his Kingkiller Chronicles, he went into great detail about the economy of the world he made, knowing full well only other econo-philes would enjoy those bits.
I think it's the same with gaming tables. Most just don't share the GM's particular kink for whatever detail he/she felt like fleshing out in the world
1 minute ago, KungFuFerret said:It's possible, though I think it's more likely, that the average gamer mindset doesn't really care about what they consider extraneous details. They are only concerned with the details directly related to them and their mission.
Patrick Rothfuss put it really well at a panel once, talking about how authors usually have some thing they love, that they sneak into their books, but that usually only resonates with a small % of their readers. For example, Tolkien was a huge language fanatic, hence why it was in all his stories, to the point of boredom for many people. Or how Patrick himself, is an economy freak, so in his Kingkiller Chronicles, he went into great detail about the economy of the world he made, knowing full well only other econo-philes would enjoy those bits.
I think it's the same with gaming tables. Most just don't share the GM's particular kink for whatever detail he/she felt like fleshing out in the world
That's interesting stuff. Yeah it makes sense that our interest drives our focus. Players are interested in doing something by and large, the GM is reacting to that but also projecting the world in a way that interests the GM. Lol yeah I learned the hard way that making a book for your players to read about your setting is a pretty big waste of time except for whatever you get out of it.
I think it's also a matter of proportion. No detail makes everything feel too surface and bland, too much detail starts to freeze creativity and choices.
Maybe the Infinite Empire depleted the Oort Cloud 30,000 years ago?