Across dozens of star systems, worlds habitable to human colonial ambitions have been found. From one world humans leap to hundreds in the span of a couple centuries. Riches far greater than Earth could ever offer have been found across these worlds, as have countless life forms so unexplored that anyone who reaches into any of these worlds is bound to encounter a plethora of creatures unseen until you. In the depths of space, the mind is free. That is how it should be. Yet the true potential of trying to understand the universe and go to the farthest reaches of space are stifled by the red tape of the United Front. Goods from the colonies are stripped away and redistributed from Sol at the leisure of the elite, the bans on trade between colonies made even worse by the interstellar distances involved, for Warp Drives require licenses issued from sol and the redistribution programs which steal from hundreds of worlds to enrich one where the majority of humans do not even live anymore.
This has led to developed colonies never being at the full potential while developing colonies toil harder than they truly should. However, the most notorious consequences of Terran colonial policy is the unneeded suffering for those who didn’t have the privilege of living on a life filled world. Famine has been the unfortunate reward for those who mine on worlds made dependent on Sol itself, self-sufficiency being restricted out of the belief that all goods are fairly redistributed. Thankfully, in the past century there has been little true control the United Front has on increasingly more culturally distant colony living on the vast diversity of worlds with interstellar commerce occurring regardless of what the Terrans have to say about it. Tensions remain high even as alien civilizations begin to cross paths with our own and the United Front is increasingly wary of their authority being ever more undermined over the past century.
For the power of the colonies keep growing as the United Front remains in a horrid state of bureaucratic stasis when it comes to colonial management, with a rigidity in how they deal with people in the colonies that is outright dehumanizing. For despite all the propaganda of the common man, the United Front is anything but united. Multiple political machines on Earth compete for control of the stars, with rampant infighting and a disconnect between sol and the colonies which has only gotten worse in due time. The United Front is claimed to be in a death spiral, any semblance of control of humanity's future now slipping away.
There's two paths that now appear to you.
The first path is to worry about everything just stated above, to involve yourself in the muddy political landscape that has appeared in a future far less sterile than the optimistic would have dreamed it so.
The second path however, is perhaps more risky.
What if instead, someone were to leap out into the great stellar abyss? What would you find out there, free of the imposing crises which plague human space? In such uncharted areas where the United Front wouldn't touch with a 500 meter drone anything is possible. Alien beings, naturally occuring worm holes to places far beyond, hints to something greater than all this perhaps? There is only one way to find out.
And that is to go as far away from the United Front as you can, to go where no one dare tread.
And beyond.
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Overview
The stars divided is a small scale interstellar RP. Smaller scales mean that every star system counts, unlike in a galaxy spanning space opera where whole regions of space are glossed over. Individual stars are what factions in this universe vye for control over, with some star systems being far more valuable than others, with some worlds holding riches beyond anything ever seen in the Solar System.
Aside from Humans, alien beings on other worlds as it turns out, are quite widespread. These alien beings are outside the influences of the United Front or human attitudes towards the universe in general and have developed on paths far different than us. Some of these aliens too, have found a way to travel between worlds on incredibly different lines of progression than on Earth and simply see the world all too different from us.
However, the most powerful society remains to be the United Front and should that titan fall apart, there is no knowing what will happen next other than chaos. Even more chaos than what now consumes star after star, world after world.
On Warp Drives
The FTL used here is a simple warp drive which is able to go to other star systems. They’re not terribly widespread, but widespread enough that being a captain and diving into the depths of space is possible even with the dreaded Terran bureaucracy. There is some delay between jumps to take into account, of which will be represented by this RP with one page or so. Gravity wells distort FTL jumps, making it very dangerous if not impossible to warp into or out of the atmosphere of a planet.
Worm holes that are naturally occurring do exist, but no FTL communication systems exist. You will need to use spaceships to transmit information along with goods for that reason.
Travel timing is based on pages, you can make a warp jump once every page.
On Human Factions
There’s quite a few human societies that have developed in the past three centuries, with entire factions united across multiple worlds who find that not only is earth itself their enemy, but also factions who rival their own across the stars.
Terran hegemony is still widespread, but their control is most intensive only in twenty five star systems of dozens. These twenty five star systems will be partially given descriptions by your truly, with some left open should someone want star systems under control of the United Front, for whatever reasons that may be.
Each player who makes a faction can develop up to seven star systems their faction has control in. Factions may have partial control of other star systems jointly with other factions or aliens.
On Aliens
(Note: Alien Species = Sapient Species, creatures on other worlds you can make all you want in any way you please)
Aliens do not need to follow our political concepts (they’re aliens after all), but they too must abide by the in how many star systems they occupy and shouldn’t have technology which is more advanced than our own. An alien species with space travel controlled by one player may have control of up to eight or nine star systems. Aliens controlled by multiple players can add an additional seven star systems for said species. However, like with humans there should be divisions between their political units. A player with an alien species can make multiple polities for their alien species- however all of them are limited to eight-nine star systems total. (This applies to humans as well)
A faction may have multiple species.
Each player can add one alien species (multiple species on one planet that adheres to the star system limits is fine, multiple species on multiple planets not so much). If you are controlling a human faction, said alien species can’t be a space faring species.
“NPC” species on wild worlds should be technologically primitive.
Relics from long gone alien civilizations may require a PM and probably will not be accepted anyways. Ruins of matched or preindustrial species are much more likely to be acceptable. If it's a creative enough concept that meshes well with the narrative I may reconsider this stance.
Any alien species which is not unique enough or is too human-like will be promptly denied.
Any alien species with tech that is over powering or enables them to be a invading force using hard power means will be promptly denied.
In short, if the alien you have brings nothing to the table or it just breaks the focus of the setting it will be promptly denied.
On Contested Star systems
Some star systems may have worlds that aren’t dominated by any single faction or hell, even species. These star systems are considered “contested” and tend to be more complicated than star systems where a single faction has control because they tend to be where tensions grow highest. I encourage the creation of contested star systems!
On Technology
Here's a general outlook when it comes to tech in the future.
Gauss, Railguns and electromagnetic weapons in general are widespread while plasma weapons are rare.
Spaceships are numerous and tend to see decades, if not centuries of service with some spaceship designs dating all the way back to the late 21st century. No spaceships larger than 3-5 Km in length have been produced, Terra's Finest being perhaps the largest spaceship manufactured in history at 4.9 Kilometers in length in orbit of Mars during the 200th Anniversary of the United Front's continued prosperity (or 2345).
AI systems exist, but not to godlike levels. AI systems in general are stunted developmentally.
Genetic modification is frequent, but deeply regulated even as of 2375 by the United Front. Radical genetic modifications are much harder to come by. (Should someone make a different enough modification, said human becomes no longer homo sapiens sapiens, instead they're treated as a different sub-species entirely)
Implants and cybernetics in general are looked down upon by the United Front, but to little success has the United Front been able to suppress their spread.
Particle weapons haven't been miniaturized, but heavy mount turrets for particle weaponry do exist, often being used for planetary defense when not being armed on larger space craft.
Exosuits and powersuits are commonplace for the military and vehicles have developed to be able to adapt to numerous environmental conditions thanks to the sheer diversity of worlds operations have been carried out on. It's likely that one day you are on a lifeless barren world looking for energy signatures of terrorist cells, the next you are on a stove world dealing with rogue drone swarms.
Speaking of which, drone systems are somewhat of a pest and have been since the early 23rd century (2200's). They tend to infest some star systems and self-replicate. They tend to be neutral, but they suck up resources in star systems and some of these drone systems have defense systems.
Nanotech exists, often with medical applications. Nanotechnology reaching grey goo levels of deadly has yet to be a possibility, and even if it were the susceptibility of nano-machines to EMP pulses mean that they're very easily handled unlike the next technology.
Anti-matter has both peaceful applications in high end, but unstable spacecraft and much more violent applications as missile systems. Most notoriously anti-matter due to the tiny quantities and small size of containment have been used in terrorist attacks in the past decades. The United Front considers Anti-matter a weapon of mass destruction.
Mind this applies more or less to the United Front. Alien technologies may develop on extremely different lines while other factions may have different technological priorities. Ultimately like in many space roleplays, it's a case-by-case basis, but I will say in general try to be somewhat "down to earth" with the technology.
In short, take this as not a list of what tech is allowed, but more or less as an idea of what is "standard level technology" in this universe. No specific models have been given since I figure players will get much more detailed about individual systems.
Guidelines
This RP is a small scale interstellar RP, which means that there's much less stars in play here. A starfield around 50 light years across is where this RP's domain takes place. Exploration will cause the map to expand.
"Wild Stars" (stars that are not faction controlled) do not need a app! Only faction controlled star systems need descriptions, even than the Advanced Star System Sheet exists solely for those who desire it.
The starting year is 2375. It's not the distant future by any stretch, but it's far enough into the future that interstellar colonization has matured to the point where the colonies are developing independent of Terran culture.
FTL is assumed to have been invented around 2062, early interstellar colonies isolated from the United Front likely will have occurred from around 2070-2150.
Humans are the focus species.
Alien species are public domain meaning anyone can use your species if said species use makes sense (for instance, an alien that starts this RP in isolation likely won’t have individuals in human controlled star systems).
Unique alien species are preferred, I don’t want someone making an alien species who look exactly human with minor tweaks to justify having plasma weapons and super human power for instance.
With anyone who wants to make a space faring alien species, try to avoid making something that may be too blatantly an “outside threat” since the factional divisions among humans would vanish all too easily. Try to focus on making a unique culture instead of a powerful force.
Star system making is important to your app, as you own as many star systems as you can make in the star systems controlled section. The hard limit is around 7-9 star systems however. Note that these star systems are your "major" star systems in that they have over a million individuals. Outposts and secret research operations can exist in additional star systems.
To be able to IC, all you need is a character app or a faction app. A species app may also suffice if roleplaying as natives.
Faction
Name:
History:
Political Organization: (Government/Socio-political model)
Technology: (Technology associated with your faction or originate from your faction)
Systems Controlled: (Name and give descriptions of the star systems your faction controls)
Relations: (Here you can detail your faction's relations with other factions/civilizations. For now discuss your faction's relations with the United Front and add to this section when collaborating with other players)
Other:
Species
(If your species is space faring, you may need to use the faction section for any significant civilization you have)
Name:
Biology: (physical appearance, all the gooey details on how your xeno works)
Psychology/behavior: (any behavioral quirks associated with your species be it social organization, sociality, mindset and so on. People with hive minds for instance may use this section to explain how they organize the castes.)
Home world/ Home System: (An overview of your species’s home world and even star system. This can be disregarded if you are using the advanced star system sheet)
Other:
Advanced Star System Sheet
Use the advanced star system sheet if you really want to detail out a star system. You may also use this sheet if you want to make a wild star system for you or other players to explore.
Name:
Description/Overview: (Describe stellar arrangement (If it is a single star or multiple star system for instance) and any distinct traits associated with this star system)
(State parent star at top, than order planets by distance from star)
planet (info)
Moons (info)
Other:
Characters
Name:
Species: (State species, or model if a machine/AI)
Affiliation: (If Any, this is optional of course.)
Bio:
Other:
Spaceships
Name:
Origin: (Optional, if it’s a secret, just mark this [CLASSIFIED])
Description:
Other:
Organization
(non-faction groups)
Name:
Type:
Activity Level: (How widespread is your organization, what star systems in particular does your organization have activity in?)
Description:
Tech: *optional* (Any technology your faction has made of note)
Other:
Advanced Faction Sheet
(Here's an advanced faction sheet that may be more easier to organize with. You may want this if you intend to make a large faction in this RP)
Name:
Flag/Logo:
Overall population: (Demographics in terms of species)
History:
Economy: (Describe the economic nature of your faction)
Political Organization: (Government/Socio-political model)
Technology: (Technology associated with your faction or originate from your faction)
Star Systems: (Name and give descriptions of the star systems your faction controls. Integrate the advanced star system sheet as sub sheets for each star system you have)
Relations: (Here you can detail your faction's relations with other factions/civilizations. For now discuss your faction's relations with the United Front and add to this section when collaborating with other players)
History: The True Order, in full, has been around for at least fifteen years and its policies and ideas are still considered an experiment. In 2145 a man by the name of Storik Eisenhower prompted the idea of this form of government to replace that of the United Front to "unify" the human race as a whole, but it just never took flight. By 2345 A man by the name of Bethren Goston took this idea to heart and began to rally others who believed in the idea as well. It took five years for a planet to adopt this idea of thinking and it has so far stayed on that one planet as the people of the True Order began to establish themselves as their own faction as opposed to United Front citizens. Most of any resistance was met with force. Many settlements were completely burned to the ground just to show what te True Order was willing to do.
By 2360, the entire planet had been taken under the True Order's control and already they had begun taking the entirety of the system. They met little resistance from anyone who called themselves a United Front citizen as those ships had steered clear ever since the fighting first begun. The True order then took the entire system before the end of the year and declared themselves independent.
Political Organization: The True Order is led by a man who holds near absolute power,the position is typically referred to as The Absolute to further set this. Then there is The Advisor, his role is self explanatory, he holds power greater than most but not The Absolute and with support from The Council, ones who can stop The Absolute if s/he becomes corrupt or harms the nation as a whole, s/he can overthrow The Absolute. The Council is the faction's judicial system and most important legal cases go to the ten man group, they also deal with diplomatic relations. The Advisor can only be discharged by the Absolute, the Absolute can be discharged by the Council, and the Council can be discharged by the Advisor. There is one last position, The Cleaner. The Cleaner is someone who holds power to eradicate the entire government and replace it if it is failing or all are corrupt. If the Absolute is to die then a member of the council is chosen to take his place.
Technology: Gauss Cannons, Ship-mounted railguns, Plasma throwers {similar to flamethrowers but with plasma}, Orbital Communications Stations that are able to message the entirety of a system if needed, and finally Ion Thrusters for fighters. Along with the standard technology.
Systems Controlled:
Name: Cian IV
Description/Overview: A yellow dwarf equal to that of Sol, Cian IV, as the only star with six planets, an asteroid belt surrounding the system at its farthest reach. Highly unstable, high solar flare warning.
Delta Fire 0.45 AU away from the sun with a solid metal core, average surface temperature at 165 degrees Celsius. 6.89k miles in diameter. No atmosphere, uninhabitable.
Asus 1.1 AU away from the sun with liquid outer core and solid metal core, average surface temperature at 85 degrees Celsius. 9.9k miles in diameter. Atmosphere, Oxygen-nitrogen, 75 percent of surface is land, 23 percent salt water, 2 percent fresh water in ice caps. Potentially habitable. Capital of the True Order
Ashen 1.9 AU away from the sun with liquid metal core, average surface temperature at 186 degrees Celsius, due to high planetary volcanic activity and occasional meteorite impact. Atmosphere primarily made of carbon dioxide. Uninhabitable but may prove useful for metals once planet is done with volcanic activity, unknown time when planetary cooling may began. 3.5k miles in diameter
Icarus V 5.4 AU away from the sun, hydrogen gas giant, orange and rustic looking color, with a ring of small asteroids. 1,856k miles in diameter.
Westero 7.3 AU away from the sun, mainly methane-ammonia gas giant, light blue color. 1,222k miles in diameter
Harmonia 7.9 AU away from the sun, with solid metal core, average surface temperature at -154 degrees Celsius 7.3k in diameter. Covered in ice. Uninhabitable but can potentially provide water for a growing populous.
Asteroid belt surrounding the solar system
Relations: The True Order has hostile relations with the United Front, the True Order being seen as a terrorist group currently, but are seeking to repair that and dissuade hostile actions.
FactionName: Arcandia History: Seeing life on Earth decay, the first Arcandians fled on board a corporate sponsored craft. They feigned it's destruction in order to be left alone when they found a habitable world. They were finally found and have now been cast back into the galaxy and its chaos. Political Organization: Democratic Republic Technology: slightly ahead of other humans in industrial and weaponry, slightly behind in communication and travel Systems Controlled: Arcandia: a star the size of the sun, orbited by four planets. Three are unihabitable, but the third from the star is the capital of the Arcandian civilization. The second is occasionally visited by miners for it's vast supply of high grade ore. Relations: Nationalistic to a fault, relations between Arcandia and the United Front are strained, to say the least Other: Arcandians are among the most pragmatic people in the galaxy. Their independence is what they value most, and will defend with their lives.
Pictish, your faction is too vague for it too be accepted. Technology at the very least needs more detail, since you are just stating what your faction's tech is relative to the standard instead of giving any concrete idea of what your faction's technology is like. I like the basic idea, but you really need to expand on it.
@Lauder Is this application complete or is it still being revised/added on to? You may need to consider thinking why Storrik's ideology spread so rapidly given the radical ideology your faction has.
Astronomy-wise you may want to move those planets further out, they'll get burnt by the sheer heat of a yellow giant at the distances given.
FactionName: Arcandia History: Seeing life on Earth decay, the first Arcandians fled on board a corporate sponsored craft. They feigned it's destruction in order to be left alone when they found a habitable world. They were finally found and have now been cast back into the galaxy and its chaos. Political Organization: Democratic Republic, with firm right wing control Technology: Arcandian tech is heavily focused on warfare and defense of the people. Kinetic weaponry and orbital manufacturing are among the fields they most focus apon. Because of this focus, they have fallen behind in FTL and now move more slowly through the stars. They have not yet even looked to colonizing other worlds. Systems Controlled: Arcandia: a star the size of the sun, orbited by four planets. Three are unihabitable, two being too close to the sun, the other a gas giant with no land, but the third from the star (Arcandia III) is the capital of the Arcandian civilization. The second is occasionally visited by miners for it's vast supply of high grade ore in a process known as "dipping" Relations: Nationalistic to a fault, relations between Arcandia and the United Front are strained, to say the least Other: Arcandians are among the most pragmatic people in the galaxy. Their independence is what they value most, and will defend with their lives. Their firm belief in Arcandian superiority has lead to conflicts with other races. By 2016's standards, the vast majority of Arcandians are on the far right of the political spectrum. The Arcanians are considered by many followers of the purist supremism ideology, created by Andrew Hawk, an Arcandian founding father.
Better?
Purist supremism, in a nut shell, is acute rascism combined with a fierce nationalistic spirit with bits of capitalism and authortarianism.
History: Seeing life on Earth decay, the first Arcandians fled on board a corporate sponsored craft. They feigned it's destruction in order to be left alone when they found a habitable world. They were finally found and have now been cast back into the galaxy and its chaos.
Political Organization: Democratic Republic, with firm right wing control
Technology: Arcandian tech is heavily focused on warfare and defense of the people. Kinetic weaponry and orbital manufacturing are among the fields they most focus apon. Because of this focus, they have fallen behind in FTL and now move more slowly through the stars. They have not yet even looked to colonizing other worlds.
Systems Controlled: Arcandia: a star the size of the sun, orbited by four planets. Three are unihabitable, two being too close to the sun, the other a gas giant with no land, but the third from the star (Arcandia III) is the capital of the Arcandian civilization. The second is occasionally visited by miners for it's vast supply of high grade ore in a process known as "dipping"
Relations: Nationalistic to a fault, relations between Arcandia and the United Front are strained, to say the least
Other: Arcandians are among the most pragmatic people in the galaxy. Their independence is what they value most, and will defend with their lives. Their firm belief in Arcandian superiority has lead to conflicts with other races. By 2016's standards, the vast majority of Arcandians are on the far right of the political spectrum. The Arcanians are considered by many followers of the purist supremism ideology, created by Andrew Hawk, an Arcandian founding father.
Better?
Purist supremism, in a nut shell, is acute rascism combined with a fierce nationalistic spirit with bits of capitalism and authortarianism.
It's better. I just want to know what the timing on colonization is.
(This looks better) Name: Arcandia Description/Overview: A single starred system, Arcandia is distinct for one reason: first, a thick dust cloud surrounds a large portion of the system. It makes travel to and from the system hard. Arcandia: A star almost exactly like Sol, Arcandia is slightly hotter. Arcandia I: a small planet,approximately the size of Mercury. Being only .15 AU away from the star, its nickel and iron surface is constantly boiling. It has no moons. Arcandia II: the second world in this system is slightly less harsh then the first world, and is about a mile greater in diameter. It is exactly .35 AU from the star.It remains too hot to colonize, however for limited periods of time, specially equipped craft can harvest the molten metal that flows in rivers upon this planet's surface. It has no moons. Arcandia III: The only habitable world in the system, Arcandia III is about the size of Mars. It is exactly the same temperature as a moderate Earth climate, on average. It rests 1.1 AU away from the star. Two moons keep her tidally locked. Both moons are nothing spectacular, being little more then a rock in space. Arcandia IV: a massive gas giant, larger then Jupiter plus its moons, this world is 3 AU away from the star. Her gasses are toxic to humans and as far as anyone can tell, it has no surface. It does however have a beautiful set of rings. It has no moons. Other:
