Gamma World: A houseboat - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Gamma World: A houseboat

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
BRJN
Mar 31, 2006 21:46:02 The skeleton of an idea, needs fleshing out.

I want to put a tribe in my campaign which lives on a bunch of Ancient houseboats (which have since been extensively renovated to prevent sinking). Most of the tribesmen will be from amphibious or semiaquatic races. They will be on some large lakes (not the Great Lakes) connected by rivers and streams. Small houseboats run about 25 feet long and fit a single family. The big boats run 60 feet long (about the size of a railroad boxcar) and fit 16.

What I haven't figured out yet:

What do they do for a living?
Should the houseboats be permanently connected to make a big raft?
How do they keep something or someone from stealing the boats?
How will they interact (if at all) with the landlubbers?
Should they claim a monopoly on fishing rights in any lake they can reach?
What will they do about it if they catch somebody else fishing &c?
Should they be nomads? Traders? More settled down?

Ideas and advice invited.
#2
akorpanda
Apr 24, 2006 8:05:37 Sounds like a good idea...
Reminds me of a bath toy from when i was a kid, with the floating village and little people in boats, but I digress,
If it were me, I'd link the biggest boats into a floating village, the populace either fishes or raids shoreside communities and the populace can get around on small canoes or long boat style boats that are stored on the main floating boat but can be dropped into the water at a moment's notice,
Maybe at the center of the floating island is an ancient freight barge that the clan elders know how to keep running, they fill the engines with Ethanol to keep the barge moving, but all the extra weight of the new boatsattached to it REALLY slows it down. Maybe some of the other boats have paddle wheels and steam engines to help with the moving, and these smaller 'Capital' ships can attach and deattach as neccessary, to create one large floating island OR a fleet of vessels that can swarm a target ....
very cool concept...
I just may have to steal it...
#3
fictionalbeing
Apr 27, 2006 23:57:53 Perhaps they survive by scavenging the huge wrecks which dot the lake/sea they are in.

Perhaps they trade with the local land nomads. Meet at an appointed place at an appointed time seasonally. What happens when something goes wrong with one of those meetings?

Perhaps they form a much larger Aquatic community in the furthest extents of the the lake. The portion of the community the players come from is the size of say a small village. The main community a small city. many small floating villages aquiring scavenged and traded for goods and then bringing them back to the central city.

Man, there is all kinds of good stuff you can do with this...

I definately will be borrowing since I just started and Alternity Gamma World campaign...

-S.
#4
BRJN
Jul 14, 2006 21:13:55 After some thought, we could put these boats on the Great Lakes. If you stay fairly near the shore, you are travelling in shallow water, over what used to be dry land. The large bay near Toledo OH or Detroit would make a good place to have some floating scavengers moving around and looking for whatever they can find in the downtown ruins, then heading for land to trade with landlubbing locals.

IMC, Lake Michigan has extended south almost as far as a line drawn due west from Ft Wayne IN. This provides a two-counties-long drowned area to have divers check out, perhaps in 30 feet of water (so the big boats can float over the ruined houses). Bigger buildings, like factories or apartments or courthouses, make for navigational points and obstacles. Another tribe might operate lighthouses.

If you have seen The Future is Wild (Discovery Channel and Animal Planet), you may remember the oversized jellyfish that roams the Shallow Sea. I'm going to copy that and use it in Lake Michigan Extended. I recommend the series as an idea source for any Gamma World bestiary.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 BRJN Mar 31, 2006 21:46:02	The skeleton of an idea, needs fleshing out. I want to put a tribe in my campaign which lives on a bunch of Ancient houseboats (which have since been extensively renovated to prevent sinking). Most of the tribesmen will be from amphibious or semiaquatic races. They will be on some large lakes (not the Great Lakes) connected by rivers and streams. Small houseboats run about 25 feet long and fit a single family. The big boats run 60 feet long (about the size of a railroad boxcar) and fit 16. What I haven't figured out yet: What do they do for a living? Should the houseboats be permanently connected to make a big raft? How do they keep something or someone from stealing the boats? How will they interact (if at all) with the landlubbers? Should they claim a monopoly on fishing rights in any lake they can reach? What will they do about it if they catch somebody else fishing &c? Should they be nomads? Traders? More settled down? Ideas and advice invited.
#2 akorpanda Apr 24, 2006 8:05:37	Sounds like a good idea... Reminds me of a bath toy from when i was a kid, with the floating village and little people in boats, but I digress, If it were me, I'd link the biggest boats into a floating village, the populace either fishes or raids shoreside communities and the populace can get around on small canoes or long boat style boats that are stored on the main floating boat but can be dropped into the water at a moment's notice, Maybe at the center of the floating island is an ancient freight barge that the clan elders know how to keep running, they fill the engines with Ethanol to keep the barge moving, but all the extra weight of the new boatsattached to it REALLY slows it down. Maybe some of the other boats have paddle wheels and steam engines to help with the moving, and these smaller 'Capital' ships can attach and deattach as neccessary, to create one large floating island OR a fleet of vessels that can swarm a target .... very cool concept... I just may have to steal it...
#3 fictionalbeing Apr 27, 2006 23:57:53	Perhaps they survive by scavenging the huge wrecks which dot the lake/sea they are in. Perhaps they trade with the local land nomads. Meet at an appointed place at an appointed time seasonally. What happens when something goes wrong with one of those meetings? Perhaps they form a much larger Aquatic community in the furthest extents of the the lake. The portion of the community the players come from is the size of say a small village. The main community a small city. many small floating villages aquiring scavenged and traded for goods and then bringing them back to the central city. Man, there is all kinds of good stuff you can do with this... I definately will be borrowing since I just started and Alternity Gamma World campaign... -S.
#4 BRJN Jul 14, 2006 21:13:55	After some thought, we could put these boats on the Great Lakes. If you stay fairly near the shore, you are travelling in shallow water, over what used to be dry land. The large bay near Toledo OH or Detroit would make a good place to have some floating scavengers moving around and looking for whatever they can find in the downtown ruins, then heading for land to trade with landlubbing locals. IMC, Lake Michigan has extended south almost as far as a line drawn due west from Ft Wayne IN. This provides a two-counties-long drowned area to have divers check out, perhaps in 30 feet of water (so the big boats can float over the ruined houses). Bigger buildings, like factories or apartments or courthouses, make for navigational points and obstacles. Another tribe might operate lighthouses. If you have seen The Future is Wild (Discovery Channel and Animal Planet), you may remember the oversized jellyfish that roams the Shallow Sea. I'm going to copy that and use it in Lake Michigan Extended. I recommend the series as an idea source for any Gamma World bestiary.