Eon’s Ark RPG

Setting

A massive generation ship, the Eon’s Ark, has been traveling through deep space for over 200 years, still centuries away from its intended destination: a habitable exoplanet in the Alpha Centauri system. With no possibility of turning back, its thousands of inhabitants live, work, and die aboard a vessel that is both their home and their prison.

Genre/Tone

A mix of hard science fiction and social drama, balancing the tension of survival in a closed system with the existential challenges of a society removed from any planetary roots. Themes of tradition vs. progress, resource scarcity, and the psychological toll of deep-space isolation shape the experience.

Time Period

The ship launched from Earth in the 22nd century, but onboard timekeeping has since diverged, with a new calendar system marking the ship’s self-contained history. Advanced but aging technology means that the ship is simultaneously futuristic and deeply constrained by resource limitations.

Key Factions/Groups

- The Bridge Council – A governing body of engineers, scientists, and administrators responsible for maintaining the ship’s systems and ensuring long-term survival. - The Exo-Faithful – A religious sect that believes the ship’s journey is a divine pilgrimage, rejecting technological modifications or course changes. - The Gensworn – Descendants of the ship’s original crew, who claim a hereditary right to leadership and resent interference from "outsiders" born generations later. - The Scrappers – A clandestine group that salvages and repurposes old or malfunctioning ship parts, sometimes illegally altering systems to gain advantages. - The Unshackled – A radical faction advocating for opening cryogenic pods containing stored passengers, despite risks of overpopulation and system collapse.

Major Conflicts

- Resource Management – The ship's hydroponics, oxygen recyclers, and water reserves are aging, leading to growing disputes over rationing. - Class Tensions – A divide between those in privileged sectors with access to better air, food, and living space versus those in lower decks where conditions are harsh. - Tech vs. Tradition – Debates rage between those who want to modify the ship’s systems for better efficiency and those who insist on following the original protocols to avoid catastrophic failure. - Contact with the Unknown – Strange signals have been detected from deep space, raising fears of extraterrestrial encounters or unknown dangers ahead.

Primary Locations

- The Core – The heart of the ship, housing the AI mainframe, energy reactors, and critical life-support systems. - The Greenward – Expansive hydroponic farms and oxygen-producing biomes, where most food is grown and where “agrarian” communities live. - The Undercorridors – Maintenance shafts and abandoned sections where illicit dealings and secret gatherings take place. - Cryo Bay – A heavily restricted area containing thousands of frozen passengers meant for planetary colonization, now a political flashpoint. - The Outer Hull Walks – Sections of the ship exposed to space, used for exterior maintenance but also for secret rendezvous and exile punishments.

Cultural Notes

- Ship-born Dialect – Over centuries, the crew has developed its own slang and linguistic shifts, making communication with Earth-origin records increasingly difficult. - Rituals of Passage – Births, deaths, and adulthood ceremonies revolve around ship maintenance and survival contributions, reinforcing communal responsibility. - Mythology of the Voyage – Folk tales and religious beliefs have emerged around the ship’s purpose, with some believing they will never reach a planet but are meant to roam the stars forever. - Music and Art – Creative expression is highly valued as a way to combat existential despair, leading to a strong oral storytelling and performance tradition.

Social Dynamics

The rigid hierarchy established at launch has fractured over time, with new power structures emerging based on skills, faction loyalty, and control over resources. While most inhabitants cooperate for mutual survival, underlying tensions simmer between those who cling to past directives and those who seek to redefine what it means to live aboard Eon’s Ark.