Writer's Guide PDF

[robkelk]

It's the only hospital ship I know of in Fenspace, though... But it's from your character's background, so it's your call.

-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[CattyNebulart]

sorry for not responding, didn't have a functional computer for a while...
Early on it's probably the only hospital like thing in fenspace aside from a few first aid kits. But I imagine most people would rather go to a hospital where they are in less danger of being experimented upon.
And for the quick guide I don't think it's important enough to mention.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[robkelk]

Here's a draft of another guide - the big book of factions. Considering how much larger the writeups for the Browncoats and the Senshi are than any of the other writeups, input on content would be appreciated...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

While I'm working on the layout for the factions guide, here's the image for the first page. Anybody who can name all the flags gets a golden No-Prize.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Kokuten]

Clockwise from the top
UN, ATHF, Hogwarts, blank, blank, Heinlen, Greenpeace?, Democratic Order Of Planets, unknown (too small to make out, as well), Klingon, U.N. Spacy. Warsies, Trekkies, Invader.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Kokuten]

Is that Unknown one the flag of UF-Avalon?Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[M Fnord]

There are no Eyrie callbacks in the flags (unless you count the UN Spacy, which I don't).---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Kokuten]

simple process of elimination states that the last unknown is a PAOEE flag.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Kokuten]

ok, Writer's Guide, from the top. I will write in the authoritative voice because it's easier for braindumps, please take all items as suggestions only.
TOC
Why's it grey?
also, remove subcats under Senshi entry. Unneeded, and support of subfactions for all factions will push TOC to massive sizes (over 9000!!!!!1!1one)
Boskonians should be major faction, importance, if nothing else. Alternatively, split out a third TOC section for 'bad guys'
United Feddies:
Due to their superior organization, the Trekkies have launched the first interstellar scientific vessel. Initial conflict between Trekki and Warsie factions nearly went Civil War - this was avoided by the November, 2009, Treaty Of Algeron, which was ratified by the Federation Council and the Grand Admiral of the Galactic Republic, the two ruling parties of the respective factions. This has led to the final 'hot' conflict between the two factions, a bar brawl-turned-riot, being referred to as the Tomed Incident
The Trekkies are led by a 'Federation Council', chosen by direct universal vote. The population of this faction is quite insular as Fenspace factions go, and is almost always found aboard (or on liberty from) a Federation ship. Paramount, in a move which shocked and confused many 'dane IP lawyers, officially recognized the Federation Council, giving their blessing to the use of the 'brand', on the one year anniversary of the Federation's 'birth', October 14, 2008.
The Federation is perhaps the closest thing to a self-sustaining society amongst the fen factions, with a fairly strong military, and a strong civilian prescence. Approximately 60% of the FedFen are actively involved in the military service, though this includes a large number of scientific and medical personell, in a calculated bid to duplicate the functionality of the 'source material'.
As of yet, the Federation has not been turned to as a peacekeeping or police force, and does not appear to have a problem with this. One Fed shipmaster, Harcourt Mudd, phrased it like this:
"Y-you don't understand. We're not here to tell you what's right or what to d-d-d-d DAMNIT, do, we're here to _do_ right, and to _do_ do."
It was at this point that Mr. Mudd fell off his barstool. However, the phrasing of his statement rings true with the day-to-day behavior and policy decisions of the Federation
Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Kokuten]

ok, Writer's Guide, from the top. I will write in the authoritative voice because it's easier for braindumps, please take all items as suggestions only.

Galactic Republic
Unlike the nearly-self-sufficient Feds, the Warsies are primarily a military faction. Many of its members have 'normal' lives, even part-time careers in other places or pursuits, but they wear their cog wheels (reference to the gearlike design of the Republic logo) with pride, and identify themselves as per their rank and posting in the Warsie military.
Not quite a militia, not quite a standing army, people who interact over time with Warsie folk get the feeling that they're waiting for something, which would be an accurate statement. In the event of an extrasolar incrusion, the Warsies have several plans and impressively large caches of material for persuction of military action.
As the Boskonian problem has worn on and worsened, more and more Warsie ships have been put into action against this threat, and more Warsie factioners into crew slots on non-Warsie vessels fighting the Reavers.
While publicity and interest primarily focus on the big names and flashy tactics of the 'SMOFs', the Warsies are the unsung backbone of the Boskonian war.
While the Warsies don't keep to themselves nearly as much as the Feds, they do maintain multiple ships Warsie crewed and commanded at all times.
The 'near-civil-war' conflict mentioned in the entry on the Federation is still a bone of contention with the Warsies, though with the signing of the Treaty of Algeron, the conflict has died down to the level of 'friendly rivalry'. This change in attitude has been supported by the increased military activity by both factions against the Reavers.
The Warsies are the current holder of the "Stirrup Cup", a small-craft piloting trophy awarded to the winning team of the All-Hallows-Eve Asteroid Race, an event occuring on October 31st of each year, to commemorate and enforce the demilitarization of the Trekkie-Warsie conflict. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Kokuten]

ok, Writer's Guide, from the top. I will write in the authoritative voice because it's easier for braindumps, please take all items as suggestions only.
The Wizarding World
The Wizards are not actually 'magical' beings, although they do rejoice in the membership of the majority of 'perfect' were-fen, or animagi (if you ask them). The mystical trappings of J.K. Rowlings seminal work here serve to provide a unifying theme for a society concerned with service, honor, and children. Noone is watched as closely or backed up as firmly as a Wizarding child.
The Four Houses of the archetypical Hogwarts have been maintained, though the sorting process has been subverted - instead of a magical talking hat, we have a predetermined council-of-elders (including the child's parents) decision being _broadcast_ by a talking hat, with great ceremony. The 'Telepathic Hat' functionality is also supported, and is often used to deliver a personalized message from 'the hat', again a predetermined message set by the council and child's parents.
It's not all peaches and cream for a Wizarding child, though. The educational routine of Hogwarts is brutal, and merely completing it in the 'traditional' seven years is cause for honor. Many children end up failing a year, though not often more than one, but being an Eight-Year Hogwarts Student is still an honorable thing to be.
Diverging from the canonical Wizarding Society, the 'Ministry of Magic' of the Fenspace Wizards is an elected council, with elections handled by universal ballot (for those that have attained their majority) and district votes weighted as to their last censused populace.
There are seven seats on the Wizarding council, as follows:
Magical Law Enforcement (The Councilor For Law)
The Councilor for Law is the head administrator of the law enforcement and judicial arms of the Wizarding world. To prevent the abuses of power (or cases of blatant incompetence) displayed in the source media, the Councilor For Law must operate under a Veil of Revealing. This is the name given one of the first laws passed by the Wizarding Council, and an office or person operating under this law is recorded 24 hours a day, for their tenure of office. Any given period of time is available to any adult Wizard for review, though it must first be vetted by a three-member panel of the Council.
It is notable that this three-member panel (Which is chosen at random by the Ministry Mainframe, Jorkins) is currently in decision on only one footage request, with none pending. At no time in the Ministry's active history has this queue gone above five footage requests or five days wait. The Vetting Panel for the Councilor For Law meets under one regulation; to safeguard the common privacy of the Councilor for Law, inasmuch as this does not harm the Wizarding World.
The Councilor For Law can operate outside the Veil only by endorsement of the entire Council, or by endorsement of remaining Council members in event of malfeasance or death.
[b/Magical Accidents and Catastrophes (The Councilor for Catastrophe)[/b]
This relatively easy Council position is responsible for emergency planning and services, including fire, famine, and attack. By unanimous decision, the Council has requested (and obtained) defense agreements from both the Warsies and the Federation, in return for docking and child services.
The department under the Councilor for Catastrophe does maintain armed vessels, though there aren't many of them, and they aren't very powerful. They are almost always found either near Hogwarts, or ferrying VIPs.
Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (The Councilor for Creatures)
The Councilor for Creatures is served with administering and regulating biomod and semi/nonsentient 'wavium creations. This department is also the 'local' Turing authority for AI that Quicken in the Wizarding world.
International Magical Cooperation (The Councilor for Cooperation)
The Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Fenspace Wizarding World is perhaps the most different from it's source material. In Fenspace, this department is responsible for all 'foreign relations', including matters of jurisdiction, treaties and agreements, and 'national level' public relations.
Magical Transportation (The Councilor for Transport)
This department is the registration authority for ships flying the Hogwarts flag, which is not specific to school compound vessels. Wizarding space vehicles use the 'H' prefix, making the Space Ship Sirius Black Was Innocent the HSS-019. Hogwarts School vessels are denoted with an 'Hs' prefix, making the Headmaster Dumbledore the HsSS-001.
[/b]Magical Games and Sports (The Councilor for Games)[/b]
The sport of Quidditch, as well as several 're-themed' 'dane sports have been supported by the Wizarding world, both as athletic endeavors, spectacle, and team-building exercises. As such, this department is responsible for certification of tools and equipment for assisted sports, and rules certification for non-assisted sports (such as card games).
The Councilor For Games recently made minor headlines (outside of the sports pages), allowing for the first time since the inception of her department an entirely new type of Quidditch 'Broom', the Nebula series. Produced by Federation hobbyists, the new Nebula is the first broom to offer a micronized impulse drive, and compares well with the recent offerings in reaction drive brooms and reactionless brooms.
The Councilor For Games has also been recognized in headlines for their stated and official policy regarding recordings or video of the various 'official' games it hosts: "For the first day, no non-Council broadcast is permitted, that way we can make at least _some_ money off the feeds. After 24 hours, we're dumping all available footage straight into public domain, you all have fun with that"
Mysteries (The Councilor for Mysteries)
The Department of Mysteries is another greatly changed group from its origins. In Fenspace, this department is concerned with the maintenance and upkeep of 'state' facilities, such as Hogwarts, the Council Rock, and the small fleet of shuttles that the Catastrophe department carries. The Department of Mysteries also has an interesting facet to its charter - it's bound by the original Council documents to 'be responsible for any situation which may arise that cannot be unanimously assigned to another department'.
This clause has been used to keep the founding and construction of new ships in this department, as Catastrophe and Transport argued long enough in session to irritate the remainder of the Council. It is believed that it was Sports and Games that called for the vote, as he had a zero-G 'Person Pool' demonstration match to attend.
Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Kokuten]

and, to be honest, I'm pooped.
Edit: Just finished reading the whole of the 'Big Book Of Factions'.
I am _VERY_ impressed, and proud to see a few of my words in there. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Bob Schroeck]

Hey, Fnord, that's impressive work.
If I sent you a couple images, could you merge them to my specs to create a pic of the Grover's Corners?

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[robkelk]

---

While I'm working on the layout for the factions guide

---

Don't worry about that just yet, Mal - we're still getting content.

---

TOC
Why's it grey?

---

Default format from OppenOffice, and I haven't bothered to go in and change it. For this project, I'm the editor and Mal's the typesetter - I'm making sure it makes sense, he'll make it look nice.

---

also, remove subcats under Senshi entry. Unneeded, and support of subfactions for all factions will push TOC to massive sizes (over 9000!!!!!1!1one)

---

That's the idea - this is the Big Book of Factions, for consultation in cases of arcane points of Fenspace faction trivia. The short list will remain in the core Writer's Guide.

---

Boskonians should be major faction, importance, if nothing else.

---

I'd been going by numbers instead of importance for the major/minor split - are there really that many Boskonians in Fenspace?

---

and, to be honest, I'm pooped.

---

After providing that much content, I'm not surprised...
Thanks!

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

---

Don't worry about that just yet, Mal - we're still getting content.

---

Oh, sure. But there's enough content that I can start fiddling with the layout. For example, here's the new Potterite writeup in a mockup:
---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Bob Schroeck]

And that's impressive, too...

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[Epsilon]

Impressive.
However the way the text breaks up around the logo makes it harder to read. If you could make it so that when the text breaks at the logo, it simply continued down on the next line rather than skipping across to the other side that would be much better.
----------------
Epsilon

[M Fnord]

Taking a break from InDesign, here's a shot at cleaning up & expanding a little on Kokuten's stab @ the Trekkies:
United Federation of Planets
Also known as Trekkies or Trekkers.
The oldest, largest and best-organized faction in Fenspace. The Trekkies started out as a network of Star Trek fanclubs who banded together in the early days of the handwavium boom. Their superior organization paid off in their initial claim of Martian territory (the Utopia Planitia settlement) and launching the first large-scale interstellar exploration effort, culminating in the Starbase 2 outpost around Alpha Centauri and the Miranda deep-space mission. The Federation is the closest thing to a completely self-sustaining society in Fenspace, with a strong economic and political presence. In an interesting move that surprised (to say the least) many 'Danelaw intellectual property lawyers, Paramount gave their official blessing to the Federation on 14 October, 2008, allowing the Trekkies full use of the Star Trek brand "in an official capacity." To date, this makes the Trekkies the only major faction to have authorized totems.
The Federation is run by a civillian Federation Council, the members of which are voted for directly by all adult Trekkies. Day to day operations are managed by Starfleet, the paramilitary arm and the organization under which most of the original fanclubs were assembled. Roughly 60% of the Trekkie population is involved to one extent or another with the armed forces, although Starfleet takes great pains to ensure a mixture of non-combat personnell on all their commands in order to emphasise the Federation's overall peaceful mission.
Politically, the Trekkies have two major "parties," the Explorers and the Defenders. The Explorer subfaction is science-oriented, and has spearheaded most of the technological progress made by the Federation in recent years. The Defender subfaction are more militant, focusing on strengthening Trekkie government and fleet capabilities to ensure the Federation lasts for a good long while. Starfleet has not yet been asked to handle peacekeeping or police duties in the greater solar system, and the Council has not seen fit to offer their services for their own reasons.
The Trekkies had a short-lived conflict with the Warsies in the early days of the expansion, that conflict leading to the infamous Tomed Incident, where a bar brawl in Port Luna turned into a near-riot. The conflict was eventually settled by the November 2009 Algeron Treaty, duly ratified by the Council and the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, forbidding any furtherance of the conflict. Not that the treaty stopped the occasional brawl, but it did prevent things from breaking out into another major international incident.
Trekkies are an insular faction, and can usually be found aboard (or on liberty from) a Federation ship. The major Federation settlements in Fenspace are located on or in orbit around Mars, with their de facto capital at Utopia Planitia. Despite a fanon-boosted reputation for being nosy and self-righteous, most Trekkies are agreeable sorts. As noted Federation shipmaster Harcourt Mudd phrased it, "We're not here to tell you what's right or what to do. We're here to *do* right, and to *do*." The statement rings true with the behavior and policy decisions of the Federation.

---

Incidentally, for those of you thinking about content, in playing with the layout I've come to the conclusion that a Major Faction entry of ~900-1100 words fits very nicely on two pages. So if you want to try and sex up the majors, that's my preferred aim point. Thank you.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

That reads somewhat better than my editing job...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Kokuten]

<3 <3 <3<br><br>I can churn out good base work all damn day, but a fine editted product like that is awesome. Thank you, Mr. Fnord!<div class='signature'><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center">Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979</div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></div>Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[robkelk]

I just pushed three drafts onto my site:
Writer's Guide, version 0.2
Factions, version 0.2
Quickstart, version 0.1 (which I think is "final", but nobody else has seen yet...)
All three are OpenDocument Text files.
As always, feedback is not only requested, it's encouraged.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

Quick Start Typeset PDF draft 1.
Known Issues:
* The TOC setting is screwing up for reasons unknown when rendered to PDF.
* Removed several redundancies from the Glossary & Factions/Organizations sections (most notably information re: Banzai Institute.)
* p. 12 & p. 16 mostly blank, suggests art holes. Suggestions/contributions welcome.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

Using Acrobat Reader 5, the first page is blank except for the page number, and it couldn't extract the embedded font "YVTRCC+MyriadPro-It". (The font issue may be related to the Contents formatting problem, since the message appeared when I scrolled down to page 2.)
Normally, I'd recommend raiding NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day site for illustrations, but it appears to be down today...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

The problem there was I'd compiled for PDF 1.5, which is Acrobat 6+ compatible. Recompiled & reuploaded.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

Thanks. That seems to have fixed the Contents formatting problem, too.
(Now to go over the document and spot the typos I left in when I submitted the silly thing...)

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012