I’m working on a setting right now, tell em what you think.

It’s a series of prison colony islands enclosed by magic barrier. Magic exists, but the islands are mostly low mana (much harder to cast spells without certain material aids, there are a few top secret spots of normal mana). The technology level is the Age of Sail and the renaissance, maybe getting close to early industrial Revolution. Firearms exist but good luck getting them in the islands.

The prison colony islands are where multiple empires dump their human garbage. The prison staff supply the inmates with requested goods and services (subject to approval) in exchange for harvested magical resources.
Barter system among inmates - mana crystals, booze, drugs, water, food, medical supplies, services, weaponry.

Distance between island settlements is typically one or two days of travel, horses are common transportation

Monsters & dungeons in the wilderness

Terrain on the islands is a mix of Plains, Woodlands, Mountains, Island/Beach, maybe some Swampland

Notable inmates and groups; serial killer, secret societies, mystery cults, gangs, stylists of outlawed magic, anti-government rebels, fallen political rivals, disgraced military men, thieves guild/mafia, drug dealers, assassins (guild or/and cult)

The islands are Technically an Anarchy, but really the prisoner lords are gangster authoritarian and the actual prison guards ruthlessly enforce the border to keep the inmates in.

What do you think, sirs?

Have you played Gothic recently?

>>95881755
Not played, no.
But the premise inspired my setting, a little.

>>95881724 (OP)
Gothic is pretty neat.

>>95881724 (OP)
Why are the prisoners shipped off to the colony instead of being executed?
Execution is obviously cheaper and if it's because they want to keep potentially valuable convicts alive then letting them run wild risks that.

>>95881724 (OP)
If I may ask, what gamem

>>95881950
System don’t matter, but I mainly use GURPS.

>>95881946
The magical resources can be harvested for cheap by the prisoners?
Most inmates aren’t condemned to death, and most who have didn’t get arrested alive?

>>95881724 (OP)
A key thing is defining how the prisons are administrated.
>Is it a system where a power leases the islands to a shareholder trust in exchange for a cut of tariffs / taxes / sales? (Genoese style)
>A big Joint-Stock Company like the Dutch or Brits?
>Crown Colonies like Spain & Portugal?
Feudal Fiefs like Greece after the 4th >Crusade or the Baltimores in Maryland?
Further,
>Are the islands all governed by one administration or are there multiple?
>Are there motives other than profit?
And finally, most importantly,
>For your players' environment, who are the most powerful and / or load-bearing people and what do they care about?
These are all very important to deciding the general background noise and operation of the world. Do you have answers to any of these yet?

>>95881724 (OP)
>prison colony islands enclosed by magic barrier.
The barrier seems excessive, couple forts across the islands that open fire at anything trying to sail off without approval should do the trick.

>>95881724 (OP)
Go watch first season of Stargate. There are like three prison colonies in it.

>>95881724 (OP)
For what game? I don't mean system, I mean what do you expect the players to do? It seems overwrought and I can't tell what the payoff is supposed to be.

>>95882462
The players are new inmates.
They must either survive their sentences or find a way to break out.

>>95882127
All very good questions.
I imagine the best answer is a big joint-stock company makes the most sense. Multiple empires use the islands as prisons. Perhaps big shots from every such power have stock.

One administration.
Probably no deeper motive than profit, and maybe throwing politically inconvenient people into there to disappear them.

Have not decided on most powerful people and their motives yet.

>>95881724 (OP)
Sounds like you should look at Gothic for more ideas. I would also look into Golden Age of Piracy Caribbean Islands for further ideas. Port Royal merits your attention.

>>95881946
Same reason we did it in real life. Colonies in the new world have a horrible attrition rate and you initially needed a lot of settlers to be forced or to be slaves. Even government forces rotated to the Caribbean could expect to lose 70-90% of the original troops before the unit was rotated kut.

>>95882263
Papillon (preferably the 1973 version) might also work as an inspiration.
So could Blood In Blood Out.

>>95882855
I’d note that the islands have a monster population. Perhaps that is why they need to resort to prison labour for resource extraction.

>>95882818
>They must either survive their sentences or find a way to break out.
"Try not to die" doesn't tell me much, or sound different from any other campaign.
Are all sentences not for life? How do they track people and get them out once its over?

>>95883605
Well. Surviving means navigating the chaotic social scene of the prison population or going out into the wilderness to find a redoubt.

As for sentences, they’re at least 10 years. May not be life. They track people with ID tattoos and magic. Get them out with ships or airships after they report to the docks.

>>95883394
That would absolutely play into it.