Stories

Here are a few example stories or ideas, some of which introduce new content...

It's worth noting that even if the Shroud doesn't entirely encompass the star such that no light escapes, it still must be absurdly gigantic. The surface area of the Shroud would be millions or hundreds of millions times the surface area of Earth. So, imagining the diversity of life and great distances across our planet would be only a small freckle on the Shroud itself.

Survivors of the Meson Dagger
The Shroud's first humans ever crash land somewhere upon its surface. They are random specialists who would serve aboard a starship: technician, space marine, janitor, tactician, pilot, captain, etc. Some event caused them to abandon ship and here they are.

But they don't realise they are on the Shroud (not at first). When they first landed, they were captured by entrepreneurs who sought to monetize the situation. So they are in a kind of artificial reality reality TV show generated by their own concept of being lost in time on Earth.

One by one, they get enough hints that the Earth they are living on isn't quite right but perhaps have limited ability to communicate this with each other. Once they work that out, it will be a joint effort to free themselves of the dreamworld and enter the real world of the Riven Shroud, where they are surrounded by captors and fans alike.

Just an ordinary day in the life of a local
For the people who grew up here, the Shroud would seem less alien than to the players playing those characters.

Working for the Man:
 * One of the Organisations has developed/inherited/stolen/licensed a new technology that could change the face of the Shroud for better or worse. They'd likely have lots of security jobs available, regardless of what the tech actually does.
 * With its ubiquitous hideouts (including some extraordinarily inhospitable ones), the Shroud is in many ways the perfect hideout for serious criminals/spies/whistleblowers/rebels. Many organisations might want those individuals dead or captured.

Working for the Computer:
 * The originally caring but now mad and senile AI known to the locals as "The Computer" is on a neverending quest to improve conditions for the locals. Installing temperature regulators in the middle of gangland territory because sensors detect the gangsters are cold and such things. Many locals are eager to do the less ridiculous jobs, since gaining Loyalty Credits with the Computer is worthwhile in itself, even putting aside their trade value. This leaves a layer of dreggy jobs that no sane Shroudlander would take. Perfect for PCs.
 * At a certain amount of Loyalty, further access to the Computer's internal workings should be granted. Including a cyberspace world that represents it (rather than handing out actual code to the players). It should be clear that those with as much or more Loyalty are up to nefarious things in here: increasing their own Loyalty value, changing the Computer's behaviour protocols, locking other users out of the system or otherwise fucking with them, and of course delivering their real-life abodes with stockpiles of food, guns, cash, drugs, or whatever they desire (and that the Computer can provide). The PCs should choose their own path here - including non-involvement (though the more Loyalty they have, the bigger target they become to the others) - help the computer, destroy the computer, do the same as everyone else but for themselves, and so on.

Working for the Shroud:
 * The parasitic actions of the aatevak, qotraua, and other groups may go unnoticed by most but at the very least the Builders would be aware of it. Perhaps one of the Builders' responses has drawn the attention of the PCs or their employers, perhaps they are hired by the parasitic group themselves to protect them from Builder response, or perhaps its just the source of an annoying alert that won't go away until the situation is fixed.
 * In all the various legal systems on the Shroud, some variation of one law finds itself in every one: "Don't fuck with the Builders". The Builders don't interact with the other inhabitants, despite apparently being aware of them enough to avoid driving into them. In the past, groups have tried to gain advantage or entertainment by messing around with Builder technology but, sooner or later, it always ends the same way: the Security System is activated, and everyone involved is destroyed. As a result, the inhabitants take it upon themselves to put an end to the fiddling or interfering with Builder tech. If the PCs ever become aware of such activity, they ought to seek to put a stop to it - their lives could depend on it as the SS take a very inclusive approach to determining cause of t