Architecture Appearance Table
Note: Not necessarily indicative of the culture's tech-level, just its appearance.
01-05% Primitive, Stone Age or Bronze Age. This may be the case because the people are primitive and lack technology, or because they have forsaken or lost their technology (perhaps because of a war or plague accidentally engineered in the lab, or natural disaster that has devastated the civilization, etc.), or because they rely on magic, psionics, spiritualism. a supernatural being(s) or some other reason that has prevented them from developing science and technology, or has led them in a different direction.
06-15%: Heavy industrial. Lots of metal, concrete, and rivets. May have a bulky, art deco or Bauhaus appearance.
16-20%: Imposing religious. Many large temples and church complexes like the ancient cities of the Maya, Inca, and Egyptians on Earth. The cover of Rifts Atlantis™ is a good example of this.
21-30%: Sweeping alien. Smooth and graceful, with tall, thin buildings and towers, elegant bridges, globes
and graceful curves; may have an organic look and feel, or a blend of tech and organic.
31-40%: Techno alien. Dark and creepy by human standards, perhaps stark and menacing, or strange and
frightening with demonic or monstrous images and motifs, spikes, spines, hard edges, big guns, big entrances, big machines, towering statues, tubes, bulbs, odd designs, eerie lighting, dark colors, alien ornamentation, etc.
41-50%: High-tech (human or alien). May look like an advanced Earth, or a sleek, ultra-modern super-city or megalopolis with tall, sleek buildings, monorails in glass tubes, robot servants/assistants, projected holographic billboards, advanced communication networks at one's fingertips and so on.
51-55%: Paradise tech. A wondrous melding of technology and nature. Sprawling parks, gardens and forested nature preserves are intermingled with tech cities that use pollution free power systems, ecologically friendly industry and modes of transportation, as well as features of nature such as waterfalls, ponds, gardens, stone, natural formations and design elements in their architecture. The people may simply respect, love and appreciate nature, striving for ecological balance and preservation of their world, or may be very spiritual, psychic (feeling a tangible link to their world) or rely on magic rather than industry and manufacturing.
56-60% Hidden/Underground. The surface of the planet seems uninhabited or barely touched, perhaps with only the occasional farming district, space port and small city or resort town. That's because the true heart of the civilization is located underground or underwater.
61-65%: Medieval. Huge, stone castle-like buildings, towers, bridges, walls, aqueducts, stone or concrete lined streets, and heavy castle-like fortifications. The overall appearance may even include body armor and robots that resemble knights in shining armor, and renaissance styling, dress and artwork. Can be bold and beautiful, heavy and fort-like, or creepy or glorious high-fantasy.
66-70%: Art Nouveau: This architectural style is very ornate and flowery, with tall or long elegant structures molded with twisting and interlocking designs and covered in frilly artwork. Everything has a light, airy feel, fences and bridges are thin and wiry, while buildings are capped by spires and ornate domes.
71-75%: Gothic. Flying buttresses, ribbing, spikes, spines, peaked roofs, ledges, stained glass windows, gargoyles, and brooding designs.
76-80% Glass. The tall buildings, spires, and bridges appear to be made from sparkling glass (may actually plastics and alloys), chrome and gleaming metal. White and pastel colors along with warm earth tones (particularly gold, bronze, copper, silver, etc.) give these cities a bright and cheerful aura. The overall architecture has a certain fanciful elegance and grace to it, but also conveys a sense of refined culture, confidence and strength for daring to build a city that seems so fragile. However, any perception of fragile beauty or weakness from elegance is false. Most so-called "glass" cities are usually as sturdy, durable and capable as any of the others listed here. It's all a mater of attitude and perception.
81-85%: Sprawling high-tech. The architecture is clearly that ot an advanced culture, but rather than a bustling, cramped megalopolis or New York style city made of towering skyscrapers and heavy industry, they have opted tor a low profile city. One where even industrial buildings are seldom taller than three or four stories and the sky is open and unobstructed. Such places may look very modem with glittering chrome and metal buildings, plastic domes, glass tubes, and sleek rail systems or flying hovercraft. The streets are smooth and winding, shopping and entertainment zones provide for every conceivable need, and buildings are designed to look pleasingly homey, inviting and pretty ("cute" even). Every home and business has a well manicured lawn and flower gardens, and parks and playing fields are found in every neighborhood. In short, super-suburbia that imperceptibly flows from one suburban town or city into another, broken only by the occasional big city, air or space port, industrial complex, farm region, parkland, nature preserve or natural formation (lake, mountain, etc.).
86-90%: Agrarian, concealed tech. Buildings and society appear to be primitive and simple. At first glance, all one notices are sprawling fields of crops, cattle, flowers and trees with only the occasional airfield or medium-sized city. Upon closer inspection, one realizes that half the farmers are androids and that advanced hydroponics, irrigation, pest control, genetic engineering, food processing and botany are all at work here. Likewise, all the modern conveniences like television, computers, travel, entertainment and other amenities, as well as advanced sciences, are available to its citizens. The people just like a simpler, peaceful, low-tech environment and have opted for a "farm and/or village" look rather than industrial or megalopolis. Large machines, manufacturing, and transportation systems (perhaps even some of the housing) are cleverly concealed underground, in the sides of hills and mountains, and/or underwater; in some cases, off-world on one or more moons, space stations or neighboring planets. Sometimes magic and spiritual based societies opt for a more simple or back to nature look and feel. Note: Concealed tech can be applied to cultures and architecture other than agrarian; for example, the full extent of a modern high-tech city, paradise or alien civilization's military, space travel capabilities and even half its population could be concealed underground, underwater, or hidden by clever architectural designs.
91-95%: Megalithic retro-techno. This is an interesting, but often ugly and dismal architectural style that blends the big, blocky, medieval style with advanced technology. Buildings are huge, cold stone, concrete and metal edifices with few windows or delicate touches. They may include skyscrapers that resemble polished monoliths and/or low profile buildings that look more like bunkers than homes and businesses. Polished black, dark grey, dark blue, black marble, steel and chrome are the most popular color schemes with red, blue, brown and gold accents and trim. Everything is hard edged, big, dark and blocky. And did we mention big? While there may be some stretches of land put aside as nature preserves and parklands, there are rarely any parks, trees or even outdoor potted plants. Everything is stone, marble, concrete and metal (plastic and ceramics too, only they are made to look like stone and metal). Industrial complexes often look like massive cities in and of themselves. Some are surprisingly non-polluting, but others belch smoke, fire and fumes that makes one wonder if they have not stepped into one of the planes of Hell. Note: Megalithic cities are usually (but not always) built by cultures with a rigid, militaristic social structure or class system and strict adherence to laws, customs and stern morals.
96-00%: Mixture of two of the above For example, gothic and art nouveau, or modern stone temples side by side with sweeping alien structures, or megalithic retro-tech for cities with sprawling high-tech suburbia or paradise tech, and so on.
Building Interior Appearance Table:
01-07% 1. Cathedral. The rooms are made of gothic stone with flying buttresses and fractal stained glass windows. At least one prominent furnishing (such as a control panel) resembles an altar.
08-14% Coral. The inside seems to be grown, with a great many of the surfaces and supports seemingly formed out of some form of coral. Furnishings are also composed of this coral like substance and can even grow around and absorb foreign objects and furnishings. The light refracts in an odd way that gives the impression of being underwater and the whole place wouldn’t look out of place as an underwater sea base.
15-21% Forest. This interior is more of a naturalist bent. The floor is usually covered in soft grass and the console appears to have grown out of the floor. The ceiling is a canopy of leaves and branches formed by the trees that act as the main structural supports.
22-29% Gothic. The interior is built in a glossly black finish. Lighting is muted and creates shadows everywhere you go. Furnishings and accents are built of solid silver.
30-37% Junkyard. The whole place is made of rusty iron and cabling, often with a weird red glow giving the impression of total disrepair.
38-45% Primitive. The walls are made of stone, like the inside of a cavern, dotted with animal skins that hide more advanced features. The floors are earthen and covered with a patchwork variety of furs and furnishings seem to be built out of wood and bone.
46-52% Aquatic: Water is everywhere in this design. Rivers and transparent pipes pump liquid all over the building. Each room has a six-sided pool or foundation of liquid with furnishings (control consoles, thrones, altars) floating on top of it. When you need furniture it forms from the floor, as a liquid taking on solid shape.
53-60% Technical. Everything is white and sparse with dials and big switches everywhere. There is a very
technical feel to the whole design and it appeals to the more sober and practical disposition common to many research scientists.
61-68% Baroque. Everything is wide and open, made mostly in stone or marble. Grand pillars support the walls and arches. The control console is built of white marble and furnishings are made of gold, gems
and other precious materials.
69-76% Zen. Being inside this tranquil place is like visiting a Zen garden. The walls are apparently made of paper and are backlit with a subtle glow. Doors slide open silently and there is a constant haunt of wind
chimes playing through the corridors. This theme tends to create a calm and contemplative mood in
most reasonable species, although it does seem to aggravate those of a more warlike disposition.
77-84% Void. This interior is extremely minimal. The inside appears to just be one vast white room. Other rooms may appear at the whim of the occupants, doors simply appearing in mid air.
85-92% Steampunk Victorian. Like something envisioned by H G Wells, this machine looks as if it was made in the age of empire. The walls are paneled in oak, control consoles are built like a wooden cabinet with dials and switches in brass and gold, and major structural supports appear as wrought iron. Furnishings like big leather armchairs and a smoking room.
93-00% Utilitarian. White panel walls indented with roundels that allow access to internal systems, a standard console with flat panels dotted with extruding buttons, levers, readouts and other control surfaces, etc. Very utilitarian, and basic, although easily customizable and some Game Masters can modify this theme with small decorative flourishes from the other desktops, like the wooden panels and brass railings from the Victorian theme or the Liquid Crystal Displays from the Technological theme.