These Dark Stars

[Polybius]

These Dark Stars

A roleplay of the far future

---

---

GM's Note Here is the framework for a setting I've had on my mind for some time. Drawing inspiration from Star Wars, Dune, Flash Gordon, Roman and Chinese Imperial history...Have a read. It is pretty sparse in that I hope those interested would bring some new ideas to the table. Bounce some ideas around and let me know if you are interested in this sort of game. -Poly

Preface

The emperor is dead. The diseased appendage that is the Imperial Bureaucracy trudges on, but already the outer provinces are rebelling against Imperial Authority. The acolytes of the planet-spanning artificial intelligence Gilbradia (the last of her kind) muse over a flurry of activity pouring from her analog spools:

"Only under the light of a dying star will the Empire fall..."

Welcome to These Dark Stars, a roleplay taking place during a crucial time in Imperial history. Players will take control of powerful men and women and the factions they lead in the struggle for the fate of the Empire. Here, science and sorcery mix. Humans are the predominant species in the galaxy and alien hordes threaten the frontier provinces.

The Setting

The Empire has stood for thousands of years, ever expanding, conquering and spreading influence to those most distant stars. Where encountered, alien races have been utterly destroyed, enslaved, or coerced into a disadvantageous treaty. Galactic history is left largely ambiguous except for a few major events:

The Diaspora

Long before the earliest traces of imperial power emerged, mankind inhabited a single planet in an isolated corner of the galaxy. Over time, humans developed technology sufficient enough to carry them to other star systems and eventually colonize them. Isolated, and without a unified government, many of these colonies were doomed or simply forgotten, only to be rediscovered thousands of years later.

The Machine Wars

Artificial Intelligence is banned save for a singular, neutral entity called Gilbradia. Thousands of years ago, mankind developed great computers capable of 'thought'. Although the details of the technological renaissance that followed are lost to time, what is known is that the great A.I.'s ultimately waged war on mankind. Although the machines were ultimately defeated, a dark age followed this era of history. Part of the armistice resulted in the banning of ever creating an artificial intelligence again.

The Imperial Era

The Empire was once a Republic. A democratic 'experiment' on a interstellar scale. Over time, the expansion of the Republic resulted in a oligarchy of extremely powerful politicans that corrupted and abused the democratic system in place. Eventually, a single tyrant emerged triumphant over his enemies, and the Republic was dissolved and became an Empire.

The Void

Having reached the furthest points of space, mankind discovered the Void, an endless shapeless dimension outside the realm of space and time. Curious, man looked, and the Void looked back. Ripples of chaos spread through the galaxy and sorcery was born. This new universal force changed the very laws of physics and science forever, or awoke a latent power that had once lay dormant. A very small percentage of mankind was gifted with superhuman power. Precognition, telekinesis.

Factions

Imperial Factions

The Imperial Bureaucracy

A vestige of ancient times, the Bureaucracy has slowly relinquished power to the seat of the Emperor through threats, manipulation and unforgiving violence. With the death of the Emperor, the Bureaucracy has a chance to seize power once more and return the fate of the Empire to the will of the people.

The Gilbradians

The planet-spanning supercomputer called Gilbradia is home to a quasi-religious sect of zealots and clergy that have undergone bio-mechanical surgery under the orders of the Imperial Authority. It is not common knowledge that Gilbradia exists. Gilbradia is ultimately a research facility, designed to create an environment for an Artificial Intelligence to prosper, develop and interact with humans in the hopes that AI's might one day be developed for the benefit of the Empire. Over time, legends have formed and Gilbradia has taken on a mystic quality for the layman-as prophetess, oracle and ultimately as a divine being.

The Imperial Authority

The IA is the military arm of the Empire. The navy and imperial legion is feared throughout the galaxy for their ruthless enforcement of the Emperors will. With the death of the Emperor, rumors abound as to who will ultimately wield control of the Imperial Sword.

The Vespers Evening Song
The secret service and former personal army of the Emperor. Spies, assassins and loyal soldiers to a dead emperor. Many within the Imperial Bureaucracy fear what the Vespers will do without the strong hand of the emperor to control them.

Religious Factions

The Church of Ankh-Sah

Twenty-thousand years ago, a man looked upon the stars and saw patterns. Transcribing the words spoken to him by these 'angels', Ankh-Sah unknowingly wrote the first book of what would become the holy text of the most powerful religious movement in the galaxy. Followers of Ankh-Sah believe the stars to be gods themselves that shape the will of the galaxy. Combining astronomy, divination, ritual and an adherence to the teachings of Ankh-Sah. A polytheistic religion of dizzying numbers of sects, orders and practices, they are the official religion of Imperial Provinces.

Followers of the Void

Mystics and Sorcerers known for their strength and power in combat, negotiation and tactical insight. Called vacare by their enemies and allies alike, they often find themselves in positions of power thanks to their supernatural abilities. Vacare are thought to be atheists, but this is untrue. They believe the universe itself to be a divine being with certain space-time events and regions (such as black holes) to be sacred entities to be worshiped and protected.

[gorgenmast]

I've got a good plot arc in mind for this. I'll keep an eye on this.

[FrostedCaramel]

I'll be watching as well. Would be interested in a Loyalist faction attempting to maintain order if this ever kicks off.

[Polybius]

I've got a good plot arc in mind for this. I'll keep an eye on this.

@gorgenmast

Hope to hear more!

I'll be watching as well. Would be interested in a Loyalist faction attempting to maintain order if this ever kicks off.

@FrostedCaramel

I was hoping someone would go this route.

[Flagg]

yeah this is up my alley. I'm in.

[GreivousKhan]

DEUS VULT!

I mean you have my interest.

[Pepperm1nts]

This looks pretty cool. I will keep an eye on it.

[Isotope]

I'm in, but fair warning I will probably be a bit flaky. I'll refrain from making myself important.

[Drunken Conquistador]

I'm interested

[Polybius]

Working on a proper thread after work.

[Sierra]

I really wanna be interested .... but I'm stretched way too thin at the moment.

[Legion02]

Interested

[Polybius]

Working nation sheet. It is not detail intensive. No need for demographics or fancy pictures. Other players and myself need to know your factions ambitions, loyalties and assets as well as your liabilities to exploit better understand your motives and reasons for playing in this rp. Try and work with other players and myself to create unique factions. Remember this is a crucial time in Imperial history and only the galaxy-shakers and most important people and factions will ultimately play a part in shaping the destiny of the Empire. Let's try this:

Galactic Entity Entry

Overview
Province/Kingdom/Faction/Tributary Name:
Ruling Body : (This may be a single character or a group of characters)
Home System: (At least one planet ;) )
Primary Resource: (Could be as simple as mineral production or something more inventive.)

Armed Forces
(Leave this blank until the main IC thread is up with details about the technology available k thx.)

Imperial Assessment
Write a blurb about your faction from the viewpoint of Imperial Intelligence. Consider the threats and motives that might most catch the eye of the Imperial Bureaucracy. Also include any weaknesses the Empire could exploit.

As you can see it is a pretty simple sheet. I'm sure there will be some grumbling, but I'm not really a hardass GM so please, speak your mind so we can get something fun rolling.

Some other things on my mind for the IC:
Technology (Ships, size, armament and how to determine victors in battle)
Posting requirements and format (mostly word counts etc)
Cartography (I'm off the mind that a galactic map, although appealing is not really necessary since intergalactic travel is FTL. I could come up with something, but I'm limited to MSpaint so if this gets rolling and anyone is interested in helping out twbg)

My faction and posts (I don't plan on playing as the NPCs listed above-that would be a really heavy workload for me, instead I'm thinking of doing a sort of *galactic update* post with the goings on in the Empire, player factions (a sort of summary for you nerds who want to skip the prose) and NPCs. A sort of galactic news spread to keep the timeline moving forward.

Alright I've spewed enough filth this morning. Thoughts ? @Legion02@Sierra@Drunken Conquistador@Isotope@Pepperm1nts@GreivousKhan@Flagg@FrostedCaramel@gorgenmast

[gorgenmast]

Province/Kingdom/Faction/Tributary Name: 8th Outer Tract
Ruling Body: IA-appointed governor
Home Planet: Crucible
Primary Resource: Recycling alien building materials.

Armed Forces
(Leave this blank until the main IC thread is up with details about the technology available k thx.) mmkay

Imperial Assessment
In the course of the Most Stupendous Empire's inexorable expansion into the farthest reaches of the cosmos, Man has encountered numerous races of barbarous alien. Such was the case when colonists attempted to settle a system inhabited by an indigenous race 12 anni past. The name by which they called themselves was lost with their civilization, but Man knew them as the Aylma. When imperial colonists attempted to colonize planets settled by the Aylma, conflict arose as it so often does between Man and Xeno. The Aylma attempted to defend themselves from imperial incursion, but their's was a futile effort. Xeno resistance is always futile.

The Imperial Authority dispatched the 27th Tagma to the Aylma homeworld in response to Aylma resistance to colonization efforts. The battleships of the 27th, a Tagma trained for planetary assault, effortlessly subdued the pitiful defenses of the Aylma and sterilized their world from orbit. When the 27th left the system, the xeno homeworld was naught but a burnt cinder covered in ashes and ruins.

In the absence of the Aylma, the xeno world was occupied by criminal outcasts from the Empire. Living amidst the extensive xeno ruins, the lawless squatters were able to evade apprehension by the Imperial Authority. Piracy became rampant in the nearby 7th Outer Tract and it was clear that something needed to be done. The Imperial Authority dispatched forces to the planet once again; this time the 51st Tagma led by the disgraced Commodore Augustine Hellefax. The 51st captured the pirate strongholds and established Imperial control over the ruined world, which was summarily rechristened as Crucible. Commodore Hellefax was charged as governor of the newly-established 8th Outer Tract, responsible for rooting out all criminal enterprise and terraforming Crucible from a burnt cinder to a thriving colony.

At the time of this writing, four anni have passed since Commodore Hellefax was assigned governorship of Crucible and the 8th Outer Tract. It is reported that the terraforming efforts have made little headway; Crucible's atmosphere is only barely breathable and only cheatgrass and saltwort grow in sparse grasslands over the vast plains of ash. Crucible's population growth is anemic at best. It is little secret that Commodore Hellefax despises his current post. Given his history of questionable loyalty, it is strongly recommended that he be watched over closely. Even so, joyless execution of the Emperor's Will is preferable to seeing Crucible descend into banditry once again.

- Lu-Han Zeman, Imperial Chronicler and Mentat

[Flagg]

The Magnificent, Venerable
& Justly Celebrated
Grand Duchy of Far Valyrius

Leading Figures & Ruling Body:

• Ancelmo Mencius Helgarth von Kesselbrood, Grand Duke of Far Valyrius (senile and mostly incapacitated)
• Katarine Valarious Hildegaard von Kesselbrood, Countess of Sarethi-on-Valyrius, Ducal Regent and de-facto ruler of House Kesselbrood's domains
• Vermiculo Nox, Vizier to His Magnificence the Grand Duke, Choirmaster of the Subtle Voice (Vacare Cabal)
• Govan Castamere, Lord Marshall of Ducal Armies and Navies
• Veng III the Insatiable, King of the Nyrkin Hives (xenos client-monarch)
• The Valyrian Diet: legislature/advisory body divided between the aristocratic House of Wisdom and the democratically elected House of Noise

Home System: Valyrius System

• Far Valyrius: gas giant home to several suspended mega-cities, gas mining and naval facilities.
• Xaxus Prime: terran moon of Far Valyrius, used as an agri-world by the Grand Duchy. Seat of the Grand Duke and the Valyrian Diet
• Xaxus Secundus: moon of Far Valyrius overtaken by fungus-jungles thought to be the result of ancient, botched terra-forming attempts. A rural world full of hardy frontiersmen who are able to keep up the never-ending fight against the jungle.
• Celestine V: Known as Shanji in the language of the native species of Nyrkin. Terran moon of Far Valyrius, with vast subterranean cavern networks where Pertichor is cultivated by the Nyrkin. Celestine is also home to the largest Choirhouse of the Subtle Voice.

Primary Resource: Petrichor. Psycho-active secretion of the Tantalum fungus native to the caverns and hives of Celestine V.

Armed Forces TBD

Allied Xenos Information

Note: Their dependence on xenos vassals makes House Kesselbrood virulent opponents of genocidal mono-humanist ideologies and movements, a near-constant source of unrest, revolution and terrorist activity among the human populations of their domains.

The Nyrkin

Sentient insectoids native to Celestine V, the Nyrkin have a symbiotic relationship with the tarantalum fungus. The Nyrkin are believed to have been part of a hive mind in ages past, but some ancient catastrophe shattered their collective consciousness. The residual trauma makes the Nyrkin highly susceptible to collectivist politics and ideologies. It is a constant concern of House Kesselbrood and the wizards of the Subtle Voice to prop up the client monarchy that rules over the restive xenos, on whom all their wealth depends. For without the Nyrkin, tarantalum could not be properly farmed to create a reliable source of refined petrichor.

House Kesselbrood use Nyrkin warrior-forms as auxiliary troops. Nyrkin hyper-fecudity leaves the species constantly overpopulated and gives House Kesselbrood an endless supply of malnourished, poorly equipped, acid-spitting swarms of man-sized insects on the frontline. With training and proper equipment Nyrkin warriors make excellent medium infantry, and there are many elite regiments to be found in the Ducal Armies.

Nyrkin Bioforms

Larvae, "puppies", roughly the size of a 10 year old human.


Mature Warrior


Mature Farmer

Gn'Mok
A warlike species nearly exterminated by the expanding human Empire, which glassed their home world, the fleeing, tattered remnants of the Gn'Mok were offered asylum by House Kesselbrood in exchange for their service in the Ducal military, where they have served as elite heavy infantry for centuries. The Gn'Mok are few in number, their race divided by 13 tribal 'Legions' settled in lands given them by House Kesselbrood.

The Gn'Mok excel as heavy infantry, especially in boarding actions, utilizing wrist mounted energy shields, radiation-hammers and power lances in combat. The Grand Ducal Guard is made up of these formidable xenos. It is no secret that the Gn'Mok long for a world of their own, though they remain loyal to House Kesselbrood, which has been careful not to alienate their elite praetorians ever since the brutal murder of Grand Duke Radagast Xenos-Hater.

Trogg
Reptilian natives of the fungal wilds of Xaxus Minor, many trogg have been 'domesticated' by their human overlords and are used as servants, serfs and auxiliary soldiers, where they excel as light infantry. 'Civilized' Introgg have become increasingly integrated into Duchy society, though they are at best third-class citizens.

Imperial Assessment

Majesty,

I write with the report you requested on the Valyrius Sector in advance of your approaching audience with the Grand Duke of that demesne. As you know, the House of Kesselbrood is a troublesome, reactionary brood: advocates of the aristocracy, friends to sorcerers and witches, and ignobly tolerant of the xenos race which lives still in their holdings.

The Kesselbrood disgraced themselves centuries previous by backing the Seperatist Front in the War of Seven Suns. Only the clemency of your august predecessor Ghiomat IV the Forebearing spared them the usual fate of traitors and rebels. Politically, the Kesselbroods have kept low profiles since the time of that war, careful not to give the Bureaucracy any cause for punitive taxation, but their hostility to your Majesty's wise centralization measures is well known. They are strongly suspected of providing support and safe harbor to the pirates of the Scarlet Reach- and of employing same as mercenaries and proxies. It is well established that the vacare sect known as the Subtle Voice is based in the Valyrian Sector and has significant influence on the House of Kesselbrood, though the common conjecture that the Grand Duke is a puppet of sorcerers likely goes too far.

The prime source of Kesselbrood wealth, of course, is Petrichor- a psychoactive substance valued by sorcerers, navigators, alchemists, and many others. Occurring only on a single, xenos-infested world, petrichor must be refined before consumption and the secrets of its cultivation and refinement are held closely by the Subtle Voice and their xenos wards.

Appended below, please find details of Kesselbrood military dispositions and risk assessments...

[Isotope]

The Seft Trust

Ruling Body:
Trustee of the House of Seft, Hadrian Petreus Seft

Home System:
Akamar

Primary Resource:
Industrial and manufacturing capacity.

Armed Forces
(Leave this blank until the main IC thread is up with details about the technology available k thx.) kay

Imperial Assessment
It is impossible to be certain of just how long ago the Empire first added Akamar to its borders, but records suggest that the star system first became notable a millennium past. Those records mention Akamar only in passing, referring to it as a burgeoning waypoint trading system that had been the victim of a Xeno raid. In the past thousand years it has progressed far beyond that early assessment. No longer ‘burgeoning’ but fully developed and ever expanding, Akamar is undoubtedly the largest center of manufacturing in its sector of space.

While the system may reside in a sector of space under the purview of one of our esteemed governors, it is under the de facto control of The Seft Trust. This is because the system lacks any notable planetoids beyond a smattering of rocky debris around the star that has, for whatever reason, never coalesced into a proper body. Every major settlement in the Akamar system is a space station, and without fail, from O’Neill Cylinder to mining rig, every man made structure in the system belongs to the Seft Trust. The wealth and influence this has permitted the family exceeds what would be tolerable save for the fact that they have been steadfast supporters of the throne throughout their long history. Moreover, removing the Trust would undoubtedly cause catastrophic damage to the valuable anchorages and shipyards in the system.

The Seft Trust, much as the name suggests, is organized as a trust. Some long forgotten scion of the family set up a trust that, regrettably, was arranged in such a way as to make the family hereditary nobility in all but name. The designated Trustee is always the first child of the last Trustee, and the whole of the family is set up as an indefinite beneficiary. While they engage in the kind of hedonistic degeneracy one would expect, it should be said the Seft family is very near to a non-actor politically. Certainly they have considerable influence, but rarely is that influence used to do more than ensure the seemingly endless flow of resources that feed the Akamar systems foundries and manufactories.

That being said, the Trust should not be underestimated. Like any hereditary system the Trust is at the whim of whoever inherits it, and the day may come when a sitting Trustee breaks tradition. Luckily the sheer scale of the infighting present in the Seft family would make removing a Trustee easier than it otherwise would be if the family made any attempt to present a united front. Still, in managing the Trust manipulation should be favoured over force. Akamar has the facilities to construct whole fleets given time, and while the IA benefits from this now if insurrectionists were able to gain the Trusts favour the throne could be faced with a well-armed rebellion.

For now though, the Seft family is indulgent, quarrelsome, and above all loyal. So long as an Emperor watches over them history suggests they will remain so.

[Ozerath]

Very interested!

The Concordat

Overview

Leading Figures and Ruling Body
The Star Chamber, an elected body of representatives that ostensibly runs the Concordat
The Circle, a small council of a select few Concorded who actually rule.
Ademnon, the First Concordat
Sendema, the Harbinger of Tomorrow

Homeworld
Hard to say exactly, though the world Sanctuary is certainly their most prominent holding. The deep space station Concord Dawn serves as the Concordat's actual capital however.

Primary Resource
Advanced cybernetics

Imperial Assessment
Legatus,

An urgent change of policy is needed with regards to the enigmatic entity known as the Concordat. First, a brief backgrounder.

The Concordat exists in an odd legal grey zone. Officially, it is listed as an alternative religious organization, but in practice, it is almost a sovereign nation. Sanctuary, for example, is an Imperial world. Its citizens pay imperial taxes and enroll in the Imperial armed forces. It has an imperial governor. But make no mistake, that governor and those taxes only remain in place so long as they do not become burdensome on the Concordat.

The Concordat's stated objective is Transcendance. They wish to transfer-truly transfer, not copy-their minds to digital mediums and live eternally in a digital utopia. They are evidently well on their way, having developed incredible cybernetic implants of all kinds, everything from replacement limbs that are indistinguishable from flesh and blood counterparts to cortical network implants that let them speak to each other in their minds. Standing policy has been to leave the Concordat alone, as the technology they develop has many uses when exported to the rest of the Imperium, and they have historically been perfectly loyal Imperial subjects.

This policy must change. My spies have discovered data that suggests the Concordat has been conducting a military buildup for the better part of thirty years, completely undetected. Our evidence is circumstantial, I admit, but if it is correct, the Concordat we know is but a facade they permit us to see.

Fortunately, I have gained some insight onto the internal politics of the Concordat. If you are at all familiar with the Concordat, you are doubtlessly aware of the names Ademnon and Sendema. Ademnon was the first human ever implanted with the cortical network implant, and is therefore the first true Concordat. He also happens to be a decorated Imperial war hero. Sendema is a cyberneticist, apparently even more skilled than the Concordat's founder, Marcus Talisan, and she is widely expected to usher in the next wave of the Concordat's evolution. Evidently, the two have emerged as prominent political figures in the Star Chamber, and they are quite at odds with eachother, as are their followers.

I recognize our available forces are spread thin, and if the rumors we've heard about the magnitude of the Concordat's military power are true, a direct assault would be prohibitively costly, if not outright impossible. However, I believe Ademnon and Sendema's political feud can potentially be escalated into a military one. I do not have appropriately concrete evidence to prove the threat the Concordat may represent, but I implore you to allocate additional resources to my command. The fate of the Imperium may be in the balance.

[GreivousKhan]

Working nation sheet. It is not detail intensive. No need for demographics or fancy pictures. Other players and myself need to know your factions ambitions, loyalties and assets as well as your liabilities to exploit better understand your motives and reasons for playing in this rp. Try and work with other players and myself to create unique factions. Remember this is a crucial time in Imperial history and only the galaxy-shakers and most important people and factions will ultimately play a part in shaping the destiny of the Empire. Let's try this:

Galactic Entity Entry

Overview
Province/Kingdom/Faction/Tributary Name:
Ruling Body : (This may be a single character or a group of characters)
Home System: (At least one planet ;) )
Primary Resource: (Could be as simple as mineral production or something more inventive.)

Armed Forces
(Leave this blank until the main IC thread is up with details about the technology available k thx.)

Imperial Assessment
Write a blurb about your faction from the viewpoint of Imperial Intelligence. Consider the threats and motives that might most catch the eye of the Imperial Bureaucracy. Also include any weaknesses the Empire could exploit.

As you can see it is a pretty simple sheet. I'm sure there will be some grumbling, but I'm not really a hardass GM so please, speak your mind so we can get something fun rolling.

Some other things on my mind for the IC:
Technology (Ships, size, armament and how to determine victors in battle)
Posting requirements and format (mostly word counts etc)
Cartography (I'm off the mind that a galactic map, although appealing is not really necessary since intergalactic travel is FTL. I could come up with something, but I'm limited to MSpaint so if this gets rolling and anyone is interested in helping out twbg)

My faction and posts (I don't plan on playing as the NPCs listed above-that would be a really heavy workload for me, instead I'm thinking of doing a sort of *galactic update* post with the goings on in the Empire, player factions (a sort of summary for you nerds who want to skip the prose) and NPCs. A sort of galactic news spread to keep the timeline moving forward.

Alright I've spewed enough filth this morning. Thoughts ? @Legion02@Sierra@Drunken Conquistador@Isotope@Pepperm1nts@GreivousKhan@Flagg@FrostedCaramel@gorgenmast

@Polybius

I'm working on an app now. I do have a question though of some importance, however, in what manner of does the empire transport itself through space? That is to say what means of space travel are we using here? I assume it must be some form of FTL but what kind? Wormholes? Mass acceleration? Gates? Warpdrives? Hyper-lanes?

The exact nature of this kind of technology will have a huge impact on everything to come and to have already past.

[Isotope]

If you've not set your mind on any particular method @Polybius could I suggest, whatever the method, it not work in gravity wells? A sort of 'from the edge of system A to the edge of system B'. Mostly just to prevent the whole FTL weapon debate.

[GreivousKhan]

Indeed, the Stellaris approach of gravity well limit is a pretty good staple of the genre. Anything to avoid the inevitable asteroids used as catapulted super weapons.