Sunday, October 18, 2015

Less Then Seventy Two Hours Till Venger Satanis Alpha Blue Kickstarter Closes, & Some Space Brothel Thoughts

So I've been quietly following Venger Satanis's Alpha Blue Kickstarter,  and its ending in less then seventy hours from the time of this writing. He's already got more then a few ideas for his space brothel including a possible version of space poker according one of the recent updates he posted. Yeah, that's right kids space poker and hookers who doesn't love that for adventurers?
But time is running out and given the high octane space action influences this is pretty much going to be a no brainer to get in on. Given the influences in Alpha Blue ( taken from the Satisfiers of Alpha Blue), "Aside from my imagination, I'll be relying on classic sci-fi TV and film inspiration to see my through... such as Blake's 7, (vintage) Doctor Who and Star Trek, Star Wars, Ice Pirates, Heavy Metal, Thundarr the Barbarian, Starchaser: the Legend of Orin, Flash Gordon, Blade Runner, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Dune, Saturn 3, Woody Allen's Sleeper, and a dozen more." What actual use are space brothels? I've used brothels as meeting points for adventurers in science fiction and science fantasy pieces for years. Basically these places can operate as a one stop adventurers point for all kinds of adventure hooks. From a place where bounty hunters can collect a target for a reward to a place where information is brought & sold to the obvious use. Brothels in space and planet side can serve a wide range of actual applications. The 'Needwant' from the recently canceled Defiance was a major focal point of the city in that television show but wasn't the only one from books, film and television. Spider Callahan's 'Lady Sally's' serves a major point in his novels and refers to the employees as 'artists' and their regulars as clients. Given the time of year, 'the Comstack' brothel from 'True Blood'  on HBO from the fifth season has a certain flare to it. Mrs.Palm's place from Terry Pratchett 's Discworld also has some interesting clients and story hooks to it. For a real spin on the space brothel or a sub genre there's the holo brothel from Babylon Five's 'River of Souls' stand alone movie which had a very dangerous and dark purpose besides stealing a person's look. Given Deep Space Nine revolutionized the holo brothel by making it far more accessible to the main stream public & creating yet another element for Star Trek's writers to play with an adventure element. Is it really any wonder that the holographic bits and pieces easily lend themselves to all kinds of science fantasy and science fiction hi jinks. Holograms in the Star Trek universe are as much NPC's as they are adventure opportunities. A fact that's been floating around ever since Star Trek first introduced the holo deck in the Star Trek cartoon. From 'Firefly' we get Nandi's shuttle and her profession plays a central role in the show's plot.
   Which brings up one of the facts about Alpha Blue not only is this pleasure palace in space but an adventure location unto itself. Described as a "now decommissioned, Alpha Blue is something akin to an interstellar whore house or "love boat", drifting from planet to planet, acquiring new talent, clients, and security.  It's as big as a city, so there's no shortage of wild escapades, interesting characters, lucrative opportunities, and naked throbbing pleasure.  Plus, there will be plenty of scenario seeds fleshed out for planet-side shenanigans. " We are essentially talking about giving the DM cart blanche for adventure hooks, plot links, and even entire adventures. Alpha Blue is the quintessential adventurer's dirty little secret. I can already see this being part Las Vegas in space meets adventurers R& R location on acid in a good way.


These places provide the DM with ample opportunity for NPC creation interaction, adventure hooks, a place where those rumors get started and passed round. Even a place where weird or interesting items, treasure or equipment might be bartered for to pay off bills, get a bit of extra scratch and cash, and as a place to introduce the latest scandal rocking the cosmos allowing for even more old school space action to come the PC's ways. As I said there's a myriad of uses for the space brothel and Alpha Blue looks like just the place to help satisfy a DM's itch for an old school space brothel with a twist.

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