Imagine a world without Motorcycles
Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 1:54 am
So when we played Holistic's Fading suns we had to do a lot of imagining of vehicles in the absence of detailed rules. One of the things I decided was that the Motorcycle was a novelty that didn't survive the First Republic in my games. Harsh I know but I'll explain more. In the Revised edition we have motorcycles but I'd like to make some arguments for why they wouldn't be very common.
1. They're a bit of a fluke. Motorcycles didn't come into being out of engineering need. They were an early motorized vehicle based on popular bicycles. They were never very safe or practical but they returned to fashion time and again because of a romanticism we have with the idea of the motorcycle. I know we have more than a few motorcycle riders who are gamers, as I'm one of them. but lets be honest. If we started our technology over again with what we know now, would we ever ride a vehicle with two in-line wheels? If we want a dexterous off-road vehicle for hunting or scouting we could have trikes or quads that are more stable and allow easier transport of tack. If we want an agile efficient city transport for messengers or food deliveries we could make monowheels that use less fuel and are safer.
2. They're a recreational vehicle in a utility world. Motorcycles aren't practical. They can't carry much cargo. They're difficult to idle with. It's difficult to manage a passenger on one. They offer no protection from the elements. The working class of Fading Suns wouldn't choose them if they had a choice. When we imagine them, motorcycles are typically either being used to cruise stylishly with your gang on or race/perform stunts on. Both of those tasks are mostly the pastime of Nobles and they have much cooler vehicles to play with. Motorcycles in Fading Suns slip into the gap between not utilitarian enough and not cool enough.
3. They're more expensive and more of a hassle than a Horse. Fading Suns' cities are built to accommodate beasts and their riders. A horse runs off grass, can handle any terrain and makes a lot less noise. The point of a mechanical horse would just seem silly to most known worlders and on many levels a motorcycle is an attempt to mechanize the horse.
So I created two personal vehicles. The first was the Myule. It was a 4-wheel open top Autocoach about the size of a modern off-road quad. Myules aren't fancy. They're made for dirty work. They have an engine strong enough to tow a loaded cart or plow a field or power a well pump. Myules are the kind of vehicle that you'd find pulling cargo at a spaceport or working a Scraver excavation site. The Second was a Ring Bike. Ring Bikes are monowheel racers with a saddled engine that rides inside of a single semi-rigid wheel. They're difficult to handle except on flat roads and take some time to accelerate but they're very fuel efficient and can travel and very high speeds. Ring Bikes are the kind of vehicle messengers or package delivery people would use in large cities.
As always your world your way, but I thought I'd share some of my reasoning as to why Motorcycles wouldn't be very common and some of the ways personal conveyance could evolve in your game worlds.
1. They're a bit of a fluke. Motorcycles didn't come into being out of engineering need. They were an early motorized vehicle based on popular bicycles. They were never very safe or practical but they returned to fashion time and again because of a romanticism we have with the idea of the motorcycle. I know we have more than a few motorcycle riders who are gamers, as I'm one of them. but lets be honest. If we started our technology over again with what we know now, would we ever ride a vehicle with two in-line wheels? If we want a dexterous off-road vehicle for hunting or scouting we could have trikes or quads that are more stable and allow easier transport of tack. If we want an agile efficient city transport for messengers or food deliveries we could make monowheels that use less fuel and are safer.
2. They're a recreational vehicle in a utility world. Motorcycles aren't practical. They can't carry much cargo. They're difficult to idle with. It's difficult to manage a passenger on one. They offer no protection from the elements. The working class of Fading Suns wouldn't choose them if they had a choice. When we imagine them, motorcycles are typically either being used to cruise stylishly with your gang on or race/perform stunts on. Both of those tasks are mostly the pastime of Nobles and they have much cooler vehicles to play with. Motorcycles in Fading Suns slip into the gap between not utilitarian enough and not cool enough.
3. They're more expensive and more of a hassle than a Horse. Fading Suns' cities are built to accommodate beasts and their riders. A horse runs off grass, can handle any terrain and makes a lot less noise. The point of a mechanical horse would just seem silly to most known worlders and on many levels a motorcycle is an attempt to mechanize the horse.
So I created two personal vehicles. The first was the Myule. It was a 4-wheel open top Autocoach about the size of a modern off-road quad. Myules aren't fancy. They're made for dirty work. They have an engine strong enough to tow a loaded cart or plow a field or power a well pump. Myules are the kind of vehicle that you'd find pulling cargo at a spaceport or working a Scraver excavation site. The Second was a Ring Bike. Ring Bikes are monowheel racers with a saddled engine that rides inside of a single semi-rigid wheel. They're difficult to handle except on flat roads and take some time to accelerate but they're very fuel efficient and can travel and very high speeds. Ring Bikes are the kind of vehicle messengers or package delivery people would use in large cities.
As always your world your way, but I thought I'd share some of my reasoning as to why Motorcycles wouldn't be very common and some of the ways personal conveyance could evolve in your game worlds.
).
