Sufficiently Advanced A game of the far future “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” — Arthur C. Clarke Copyright ©2007, Colin Fredericks, all rights reserved Version 1.0, released Wednesday, January 23, 2008. Credits Table of Contents Writer: Colin Fredericks Credits ...................................................iii Editors: Andrew Kenrick, Sarah Lancaster, and Prologue .................................................1 many of our wonderful fans and playtesters. The Patent Office ..............................2 Artists: The Transcendentals..........................3 Front Cover: Daniel Solis Roleplaying Games...........................4 Civilization Emblems: Colin Fredericks Glossary ...........................................5 Society Logos: Sarah Skinner Where to Start ..................................7 Layout: Colin Fredericks The Quickstart Game ........................8 Other artists: The following people have The Universe .........................................10 contributed artwork to this book, and are credited Civilizations ...................................10 on the pages on which their work appears: TauCeti The Societies ..................................58 Deichmann, Michael Yatskar, Tyler Windham, Grace Alien Species ..................................62 D. Palmer, Kiriko, and Trey Palmer. Works marked as Inside the Patent Office ...................65 (CC) are licensed under the Creative Commons At- Character Creation ................................71 tribution 2.5 license. All other pieces of artwork are Core Values ....................................72 in the public domain. Twists and Themes ..........................75 Capabilities ....................................78 Professions .....................................83 Reserve ...........................................88 This book is a work of fiction. Sample Characters ..........................89 Arthur C. Clarke has nothing to do with this Stat Block NPCs ..............................94 game, and in all likelyhood does not know of its ex- Character Development ..................99 istence. But we like his work, and we hope he would Game Mechanics ................................100 like ours as well. Basic Dice Rolling ........................100 Conflicts .......................................101 Sufficiently Advanced was created on a Macin- Types of Conflict ...........................107 tosh computer, using primarily the programs InDe- Using Themes ...............................114 sign and Photoshop. Flowcharts and r-maps created Story Triggers ................................123 on Gliffy. Significant work was also done online via Advice on Themes ........................128 Google Documents and Livejournal. This book uses Technology .........................................131 the fonts Optima, Kino, and Charlemagne. Activation Codes ..........................131 Devices and Procedures ...............131 Invention Rules .............................154 For those curious about the process that created Invention for GMs ........................155 this game, its development journal can be found on- Advice ................................................160 line at the following URL: Tools, Tricks, and Techniques ........160 http://community.livejournal.com/suffadv/ Adventure Ideas ............................163 Alternate Settings ..........................168 Design Notes ................................170 This game’s official support site is: Appendices .........................................177 http://suffadv.wikidot.com/ Acknowledgements ......................177 Inspiration ....................................177 Closing Words ..............................178 Index ..................................................179 few people in the world would be able to tell you why those solutions work. Still, there are those who truly and deeply understand the technology we have today. nce upon a time, fire was at the cutting edge This game reaches for the outermost limits of Oof technology. Those who had it were almost what we think is achievable. Grounded in hard gods to those who didn’t. They were warm in the science, but speculating incredible advances, Suf- winter. They could live farther north and higher in the ficiently Advanced (or S.A. for short) looks at a future mountains. They could flush out game. They were in which nanotechnology, computing, medicine, and sick less often and lived longer. Those who could ac- other fields have advanced to the limit of our current tually make fire were gods among gods, creating the understanding — and just a bit beyond. It’s a look light and warmth and power it gave with their own at what these technologies might do to the world two hands and some very particular stones. and what societies might form around them. It is a game about responsibility and the drive for a better Of course, we know now that fire isn’t magic. It future. It is a game fundamentally about humanity, might be “magical” to some people, beautiful and as well as some of its descendants. Most importantly, dangerous, flickering and dancing with a life of its it’s a game of exploration and political machination own, but it is comprehensible to those who use it. set in a universe where everyone has nearly godlike Eventually, as more people used it and understood it, capabilities at their disposal — and the world wasn’t although its beauty and danger remained, it was not destroyed by it. seen as magic. It was a tool — one of the first pieces of technology. Blue Boxes Arthur C. Clarke is quoted as saying that any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistin- These are sidebars, items that don’t fit guishable from magic. Gregory Benford has replied into the main text for one reason or another. that the reverse is also true: any technology distin- Some of them contain game rules, others have guishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. The commentary on the game or just parenthetical ancient Greeks certainly knew how to count and do comments. mathematics; they practically invented geometry. Use an abacus in front of them and they will call it magic for a week or so, until they understand how it works. Use a slide rule and they will call it magic for years, until they grasp the new mathematics it embodies. Use a pocket calculator and they will call it magic until it wears out. Something as “simple” as a shortwave radio, in the time of the Romans, would make you a god. What counts as “sufficiently ad- vanced” in this day and age? We use technology without understanding it every single day. For all most of us know, phones could work by little spirits instead of elec- trical impulses. Most of us act as if com- puters are run by demons. Even computer programmers will refer only half-jokingly to certain kinds of solutions as “black magic” and “voodoo programming,” and Woodcut by C. Flammarion. Original caption: A missionary of the Middle Ages tells that he had found the point where the sky and the Earth touched... X 1 X economy — are being obeyed. In some civilizations The Patent Office you will have law enforcement powers, while in oth- ers you will be merely an advisor or observer, with n our universe there are literally an infinite only whistle-blowing authority. Inumber of stars, planets, and asteroids. While these are scattered across the vast emptiness of Other times, the official neutrality of the Patent space, wormhole travel cares nothing for physical Office will encourage civilizations with differing distance. All the riches of the universe can be had, opinions to turn to it for arbitration. In such cases, if you have but the time and money to go and find it is you, the Inspectors, who are expected to settle them. Replicators can create the finest spices at a disputes with fairness and good judgement. molecular level, not to mention flawlessly duplicat- ing any physical object as simple as a dollar bill or a Unofficially, your character will often be called diamond. Transmutation arrays turn lead into gold, or upon to travel into civilizations in which you have a space station’s waste into breathable atmosphere. no legal power or basic rights. Not all civilizations are interested in having an outside agency meddle In such a world, money is not — can not be! — with their laws. When you are sent to such places, represented by precious metals, spices, gemstones, it will typically be as the result of a terrible message or any physical object. Wealth is an abstract, gener- the Transcendentals have received from their future ated by three things: inspiration, effort, and luck. In- selves. The technology of the current era can vapor- tellectual property is many times more valuable than ize mountains, lay waste to whole planets, even physical property. A good idea will buy you dinner. interfere with the stars themselves. Misused, it can An idea that could change the universe might buy cause death and destruction on a massive scale. The you an entire planet. Transcendentals are determined to lift all of humanity up to their level of vision, not just a “worthy” few. The Patent Office is an extra-governmental or- Such devastation is counter to their plans. ganization empowered by the treaties it has signed with the universe’s many civilizations. Its mandate On some occasions your job will not be so hu- is simple to describe, but difficult to execute. Their manitarian. Not all inventions are dangerous, and day-to-day work is the somewhat boring job of reg- some are life-saving. Nonetheless,