Alternity - Stardrive - Star Compendium - Systems On The Verge PDF
Alternity - Stardrive - Star Compendium - Systems On The Verge PDF
Alternity - Stardrive - Star Compendium - Systems On The Verge PDF
KARNATH
Human History
Bhruu History
ndev
Luumun
Keeh
Aalsemun
Bhruusil
Cheeqhun
The Outer Plan&
Kmath Defenses
System Log
ELDALA
History
Culture clash
DEWI 18 DanWell
Ww 18 Village of the Falls
Today 20 %v!dl
Belatu 22 Rive1 91
E Commonwealth 23
T ~ Dreth Stellar Relations 91
cadros 26 system Lon 91
Ameethon 26
The Co-Orbitera 29 VIERON 93
Carldwan 32 wr
y 93
W o n 35 At War 97
wan 36 Corazdn de Fuega 101
Bran 36 %&a 103
llrlanrhod 36 Algedras 106
pwvtl 36 Jeh 107
Intarnatlonal Relations 37 The Uninhabited Planets 108
CommDnweakh Defenses 40 svstem Lon 109
W m Lon 42
WCHUS 111
TALBOTT 43 Prehistory 111
btw 43 History 111
"ha Plannarn 43 Today
Conn&ucnon Begins 46 Government
W Steam Ahead 47 Economy
Henan 48 Iron Minlng
Blahora 49 Yellow sky
The Foucalt Asteroid Belt 49 Empty Space
Thorn Shipyards 50 Qchus Defenses
.%em Lag 52 svstem h
i
Welcome to Star Compendium:Sy~fems of the Verp, be based. There are d e a s CrmCePning tha Verge-based
an accessory for the STAR'DRIVE' campaign setting and
the h . F I N l T Y 5 rol game. Wheiher you'r
to STAR'DRNE or e of its stars, you'll find
rial to build your campaign! both expansion of
information and whola new star systems for
EXplOI'E.
should taksZittle
tion is similar%
-
the interested pafties,.,lifefi
- has become som
Veraers
E cal interest groups or
wen Aemari8t ... ,groups
---
\!I
'
I
fully t o developing the Verge, it might someday achieve as it decides to incorporate the Verge, or any st
a measure of interstellar significance. It's stin possible. into the brudars of a stallar nation.
Today, however, the Verge consists of hundreds of The Concord's real power to govern in the
mostly independent enclaves, largely bereft of $rung opw tq ,any number of challenges, however. S
ties to one anothar or anyone. Likm it DF Mt, V&ga pkdates the Concords own existence so
change. B P a f l l l i b many bf i
P
2
A
1
.
1.
reporter speaks
11p)~ of a pr@--- to form a special TECHNOLOGICAL
WINDFALL
htth pmt'ct8rata' wMh greaterindRpead-
mivers who come to the Verge wither under the
we to W M mway lnternelly and w b n Be&g communications blackout that plagues the region.
pawars. The Verge governments would have
locally but would be ultbn&dy renponsible to the. Life without a drivesat seems unbearable to them,
cOf4Clrrd prcltedOl'Rta'R adnIluistratlon. ffS R model found
cut off not 1ust by hours or days, but weeks or even
In both t$e Orion League and the h m d itself, and for months. nYg parties have indicated an mterest in
a bas mdirit I@ mmess in these two stallar changing the situation. Only a few months ago,
the papie of vprge VoidCorp announced its generous plan to contnbute
with it, make more likeIy its entrance anta three funchonal, if used, drivesats to Cornvale,
thtl'vprp poHtlcal erena wmeday. Oberon, and Algemron. They could be deployed
within a year. Despite any misg~vingsthat some may
have about VoidCorp or its mohves, the gdi is so
A NEW
BEG INN IN^ impressive, so mcredble, that It can't be refused.
br man^ the tdaa of a new leaderahip from the Stellar The Galachc Concord, despite its lunited resources,
h ' t worth dismsing, much less mna~daring.After as been pressed in the last year mto promising the
&,the Vergere didn't ai@ thfs Rmty of Concord, no mat- ~nshuchonof a few mobile space stahnns "quipped
bu what it Jaime to aceompllsh. They weren't i n a d to the with drivesat platforms. They would function k e the
algnin~Oi tMe magnificent treaty, and their interests weren't 1 fiFh&oW although Wth b m g Suarzm for a
hundred or so and only 25 light-year stardnves. Hans
avm li it in represented by e 888311-
1 call for beginning their consiruction next year with the
first activahnn m early 2504 and continuing with one
every six months una the last is delivered m 2506.
Assunung all goes well with the two irutiahves, the
Verge could be a Merent place to live m only five
years. It will also mean an estimated 25% reduction
I infotradmg, but the number of small Verge
~ l o n i e smhates infotrading won't be disappearing
anyUme soon. Hw, the arrival of unproved commu-
-'cations should atbad more immigrants and more
sources from the Stellar Ring, bringing a rise in all
irms of economic growth.
~ f who
i tend to come to this m m ars tho
are h u m d m Ahtarin 'terrorists.'
Luclrlhu:The Federal StdB Of MgRIlWO
I
I
1
!
I!
a h d l be h i m . %day both contlnue to bad^ with
but the two e t a b of Akpnuon, ltke the stellar
which they are Wd, haw become concerned about
radieal pdt'dcal fwrms.
M 4 4 W WI Ras rid fftn *id Tal Ea Tan Tar lbal ThF Tlb Ip M Yan m X Y Z
rqds 43.11 33.12 42.45 43.65 31 25.9 47.79 22.53 17.18 49.99 20.92 31.98 22.9 32.53 51.02 34.79 43.02 ~ s i s 0 0 0
&eta 67.51 53.81 71.45 57.33 59.7 52.43 6181 32.26 2865 75.53 51.4 61.31 5221 39.4 43.34 26.68 66.69 wets -12.8 -14.52 -24.59
iplasmmn 73.14 60.92 78.45 63.18 66.3159.88 67.82 3.12 3512 81.29 58.84 68.18 59.16 42.85 44.33 30.15 74 Algennrm -14.71 -16.86 -31.56
rgm 63.88 30.59 51.93 45.91 49.833122 4114 42.19 20.76 70.32 31.52 5022 38.54 50.08 60.21 37.96 39.21 Jhw -19.52 -9.02 5.62
~ESW 65.16 72.91 87.76 65.05 65.9 68.5 80.79 32.53 57.98 71.96 69.64 64.42 66.59 43.25 25133 36.47 87.27 calesgue 23.85 -18.74 41.12
[header m.19 32.47 48.37 53.41 54.5 34.41 41.39 5632 30.91 75.55 33.12 55.54 42.12 ~ 1 . 9 176.23 53.96 33.87 &&er 28.14 -3.55 19.33
GInju 58.93 24.23 60.7 21.14 4781 24.5 31.89 34.3 39.31 64.29 3249 40.32 43.51 52.02 37.12 20.65 39.68 GlW 7.24 -23.54 5.26
Cmivak 38.93 42.81 3598 50.64 29.6632.63 56.67 55.41 60.36 36.96 33.35 19.35 35.45 64.29 77.48 69.67 40.69 Cmtiv& 29.74 1126 34.98
coulomb 69.12 40.47 44.03 62.23 53.7640.1 50.83 59.04 30.84 74.36 33.39 57.29 40.79 61.41 83.39 61.66 39.6 coulomb -31.58 6 23 19.44
Dawi 53.72 53.49 51.49 65.44 45.014821 66.35 31.6 W 8 61.73 37.25 52.14 35.2 28.18 6249 46 61.66 DQWi -16.11 9.43 -15.36
Diana 78.25 31.23 77.67 19.6 66.9638.14 27.25 51.72 54.14 83.29 54.53 58.41 62.06 69.54 39.33 23.75 46.08 Maria 238 -42.26 7.88
Eldala 63.71 64.74 53.96 80.28 54.9560.02 77.32 48.96 22.6 71.15 46.04 64.5 43.9 40.67 80.41 82.91 69.68 &lala -30.5 mMJ -14.44
ldmnar 51.64 28.12 50.02 29.35 40.6822.31 38.45 52.37 58.61 52.27 36.3 26.73 42.59 6688 63.31 55.09 31.16 Endnmar 2622 -10.47 32.33
nad 39.2 56.61 63.13 53.33 39.6848.66 68.64 13.44 44.56 45.75 47.12 38.06 42.78 28.74 35.48 37.48 68.58 Garad 27 2.77 -19.42
~ol$lone 73.84 60.28 90.65 44.59 711.38
59.57 63.08 4326 64.65 79.23 69.32 63 70.67 61.36 5.24 25.72 75.57 Golfstrme 27.23 -3981 -21.4
Hammer's 82.72 25.75 73.39 28.61 68.8536.18 18.88 59.02 50.8 87.8 51.42 62.19 61.02 73.9 55.96 35.63 37.37 h I l U d 6 %I'
-13.3 37.88 17.1
'natlus 17.73 64.07 4188 71.73 22.6152.69 80.4 27.92 398 26 38.16 33.81 27.119 19.4 67.47 61.95 70.05 18.72 2835 -1197
vnalh 45.54 71.18 68.81 71.93 48.3463.28 83.87 20.24 43.25 53.41 55.82 53.08 49.02 17.04 47.83 47.78 82.49 Kamath 16.74 8.21 -36.18
!mllus 36.96 51.01
aukbrnu63.79 66.43
Ccoub's 51.48 38.75
37.66
59.23
50.15
63.49
79.59
48.7
28.54
56.36
40.56
42.18 EB.62
61.75 78.59
34.33 512
26.33
44.66
24.94
15.71 44.75 26.6
22.62 71.73 49.12
11.88 58.95 29.81
38.11
65.37
42.86
20.19
46.34
31.46
21.19 64.54 51.05
36.12 74.67 58.44
32.59 50.51 32.18
57.36
7324
49.35
-
l,ldlus
t-iadmm
-327
-27.3
Mdh&5star 4.01
18.36
16.66
-272
-7.78
-22.07
-7.04
widen 76.29 25.64 68.38 30.9 62.7933.41 25.32 50.75 41.69 81.99 45.78 57.64 54.43 64.84 51.42 29.26 38.63 M0ridEn -13.6 -31 19 9.88
~~~~
mun 51.77 34.64 60.62 30.63 43.4430.95 44.17 23.42 37.51 57.76 38.48 3753 41~flR 4251 30.34 1889 49.07 ObEViil 13.24 -18.08 -4.2
ica~ 44 43.33 31.27 32.33 47.75 28.422321 47.36 33.25 18.1 49.28 11.26 31.26 16.77 38.97 ~2.88 45.62 36.75 [Iscar 44 -4.81 6.71 9.31
ihlot o 63.47 37.77 m.34 16.6551.07 79.98 38.08 ~0.95 852 38.48 25.26 28.44 36.31 732 69.18 w.21 PalFml 30.51 30.44 1.11
btmka 63.47 0 51.52 23.68 48.4912.56 1227 51.18 44.54 67.1 31.39 40.52 42.18 65.09 60.94 43.46 15.77 P@ly+mb -0.4 -1824 27.64
dmny 37.77 51.52 0 68.62 25.3641.23 68.06 55.34 44.78 39.15 23.54 33.63 21.31 54.04 89.95 76.22 47.25 Rnslnv 2.54 33.10 26.35
sord 70.34 23.68 69.62 0 59 28.93 22.36 53.01 58.29 73.68 48.62 47.38 56.62 71.29 46.9 3637 36.36 Remat 14.88 -35.14 21.19
16.65 48.49 25.36 59 0 36.05 65.49 34.87 39.77 -.
21~07 __
- 2211--
.7 14RR
. .
-- 1.72s GI37 69.79 61.03 5131 Ratrast 18.72 22.64 9.91
OStDke 51.07 12.56 41.23 2893 36.050 29.52 43.21 39.2 54.59 20.81 28.28 30.79 56.02 60.01 44.46 19.96 Rwnke 5.68 -7.86 24.02
ikldmie79.98 1227 68.06 22.36 65.4929.52 0 64.36 58.04 83.43 48.53 56.39 59.37 79.73 64.34 43.28 24.47 Spkkrhh -4.01 -34.22 33.12
0d 38.08 51.18 55.34 3.01 3487 4321 64.36 0 31 37 45.84 38.5 36.47 3417 19.85 40.81 34.9 62.63 TalkuU 14.36 1.29 -17.31
IS& 50.95 44.54 44.78 58.29 39.77392 58.04 31.37 0 58.44 2859 45.66 28.69 31.96 6188 43.88 52.08 Talsk -14.31 7.31 -6.119
~dril 8.52 67.1 39.15 73.68 21.075453 83.43 45.84 58.44 o 42.91 27.24 33.77 44.77 mo2 75.74 fi9.52 Tendril 36.24 33.82 8.44
rhbe 38.48 31.39 23.54 48.62 22.0'3 20.81 48.53 38.5 28.59 42.91 0 24.13 11.87 4398 68.58 53.21 3326 MVim 1.35 11.41 17.48
a b s a 25.26 40.52 33.63 47.38 14.98 28.28 56.39 36.47 45.66 2724 2413 0 22.34 45.38 63.44 56.04 44.3 Thalass 25.43 10.77 16.12
me 28.44 42.18 21.31 56.62 13.25 30.79 59.37 34.17 28.69 33.77 11.87 22.34 0 35.65 69.56 56.68 4485 llneeb 5.81 19.66 IO21
mdkr 36.31 65.09 54.04 71.29 36.87 56112 79.73 19.85 31.96 44.77 43.98 4538 35.65 0 58.25 51.96 74.03 lkmther 8.63 18.53 25.31
rhus 73.2 60.94 89.95 46.9 69.79 6001 64.34 40.81 61.88 79.02 68.58 63.44 69.56 58.25 0 23.5 76.36 m 23.82 -37.7 -24.78
m n 69.18 43.46 76.22 36.37 61.m 44.46 47.28 34.9 43.88 75.74 53.21 56.04 56.68 51.96 23.5 0 59.04 V h 4.12 -31.84 -13.39
odub 67.21 15.77 47.25 36.36 51.31 19.96 24.47 62.63 52.06 8952 33.28 44.3 44.85 74.03 76.36 59134 0 Yrmduh -3.59 -11.19 41.38
?O L5 'AU 5 0. 5 . LO
. .
r.n
5.
5
r n
k
&
,
the hatches and hide under Llson, they help a full twcl we& before they make the call, nr be
I Hopefully, n m r have to fhd out. tu hold out for that long.
1 HAMMER'S
STAR the &age inhabitant rd spee. htheimore, them's the
dandestlne Bfforte of stellar natlm lo m g g l e a m into
olony-compared to the @an&of AB@ that clvll war-arm6 that thsy
indepandent Boreelins on I& surface, Hammer's star qwbm a p
for tha &ate to forge ties with other Borealins haw e q m s a d the
, ln reahy, the Galactlc Concord eleln by the bugs pay thab next viait to Alg&on
ckhna anyway, and the Verge and settte that p o i n b Utth dvil war formr.
own ohannals to d d with them- man: Tha Branch C&m rd M c e Ethics haa made
GETTINGAROUND
Gattlng from place to place can pome a d-t
For hemes, travel can become an annoyance
challenge of the &ry. Evan if they haw ready accwa to a
sterahip, ifs juat as M l y that the v e ~ ~hau
e l a sterdrive
capable of only 5 or at best 10 ]reht-year &ad&. lkybg
to cruse the Verge can be a FOCWof month at such a
rate-not very satbfactary for b aa in a hurry.
h r MWI'S, SDmE BBfSB, tha Bvw IIlOl'B
aggrawtlng. In the StellaF &,tranapDltstlrm is far eardar
to w m by. When ~ U ' C Baurruundmd by hundmda rd worlds
each wtth population in the billirms, ife easy to slrpport a
ddapedtranapDltstlrmi n dw .Inthe typicel q n h n ofthe
m, each day will nee a damn nreo depertures of ann-
merdelpeeswger &pa and anrrther dozen bulk cargo craft.
lb B O ~ B extent, there'a rurthing to be dom about it.
Vergers might wish for such regular and dapandable em-
Ice at that -orb, but tbe mncm i cl reallties of the less-
populated frWw rneke thet unrsallstle Far much of their
travmle, Vmgm hew 110 choice but to bearme accustmned
For heroes, thrs is m r
A RIDE
HITCHING
Eomafemtuarwlththa
bywkchawreller
1 - -
.-
J
I When hearing the words "relic" or "artifact" in connec-
tion with a place in the Verge, the average person is like-
Commonwealth, thereby adding a strong element of
legitimacy to a people struggling to sunrive.
ly to think of the bizarre objects found in the Skyward
Caverns of Tendril or in the Glassmaker ruins of EXPLORATION
Mantebron Yet for visitors to the Dewi star system, the
term "relic" has a new meaning. Historically, it could be After the First Galactic War( the Dreth Commonwealth,
applied to the dying star Dewi. Today, it's also rightfully much like the Anarchist Union and the Free Kyrena
given to the system's primary inhabitants, members of a Society, turned its focus inward. Whrle many of the
lost but not forgotten culture: the Dreth Commonwealth. other stellar nations seized the peace dividend to
The star system consists of a relatively simple expand their frontier tmritories, the Commonwealth
grouping of nine planets orbiting a single orange KO paid attention to its domestic issues and internal differ-
star, Dewi. Although Dewi sheds less light, heat, and encefi. It wasn't until 2335- a full twentythree years
energy than does Sol, it's SI ",a<, t 1 ' only eleven years before GW2
inner planets, Belatu and was to begin, that leaders in
Cadros, with intolerable the Commonwealth began to
heat and drive off whatever demonstrate an interest in
atmosphere they might expansion, including the cul
have had, rendering them tivation of a site somewhere
into arid rocks. Amaethon, in the Verge. Ironically,
the third planet, and t h i m about the same time
Caridwen, the fourth, form that most stellar nations
a pair of gas giants that began to curtail their colo-
managed to evolve in the nization expenditures as ten-
star's ring of habitability siona in thr c'-'l-- Ring
Meanwhile, the Jovien increased.
worlds of Gwydion, Dylan, Not every cmzen of the
and Bran and the rocky Commonwealth, howwer, had
icewarlds of Arianrhod and the same interest in stnctly
Pwyll round out the dark intbrnal mitters. A large
and cold mpema of space, gmup of salf-funded Dmth#led
a s far a s 26 AU from the lay a youthful but magnetic
so&rc&dflltdp@#$tI$ heat
and light.
With only such planets to
- h a Kanar made their wav
,. . '
.
I \
\
\
as the bwchtst Union, Utopia Nmv!, and e m the
cornmanwealth?
WMne to a culture mggllng lo be t r u ~to Its rwts and
yet stili reinvent Itself, thn Dewi is witnmlng the
riaing of a new day for ita inhabitants. The o n l ~quediim is
ex& what wu1 emarge. Who wtll be in charp?Is them The Gale& Concord hersby recrrgnfzs the independ-
any hnpe for a u n h d svstem, and wlll the Cammmmalth ence and smrei5ty of the New h t h Commonwealth,
evm h e up to be even a shedow of its former glory? snle authnrfty w i t h the conhex of Dewi star system
m,
their pmclama~~n. then? Torn& was, before lnin&~
the Concord, a RLgrmmor, and many balleve that he har-
b o d a e r n e of @ li his natlon'e cooparaUon In the
about
W a of the old Commonwealth. Mhers scoffed at the
.i&n of a Rlgunmor, awn one who C ~ D ~toElcdn the
C ~ n c dh, m SO h e d a~CUM~NIW.A mcmared doc-
--&the infamous 'to hd with the rest nf the galaxy'
nemo lbma!ds addressed to Tiras-may reveal that
kmakls simply hoped to cause trouble. planetquake. 6ut mmthess m m m n mn't pnrfad A s h
Tiran' mowanone have nwer been explsined, deepite gle mMa!a can lead to dssth ll~lB h t u 'Ib date, mr tblrly
ier conUnued presence in the star system. For m m infor researcham have lwt their h.
natlon on the Concord and other stellar net lo^' presenta Staffsd by about a h h d m%mUab, the Belatu lbatlon
vithtn the Dewi star ayntm, eee 'International Relatlona' IS kqely forgotten among the apuP naws and curran!
atmr tn thls chapter. evants of the Dreth The only UMI It draws aththu to W
is in the rare instance of e dfredaglka near the p W by
- =e'-." ow of Dewl's e& lares. It has kppened four lima
the 8Latlpn's crmsbvetnn, and ea& tlrne tha hr& has
ka first &&I to appr--. B e h chrtatensd It with the sunrhred
lame of a fire-god and the spithet 'today I found all the age,
bas of Hsll.' On the day& of Belatu, the te4nperatuFe tanc
werages in excees of 3000' C-wugh to rander ib sw-
am e giant ocean of li&d matals and compounds. For the sdwtlala could be
vhlle the planare interior cooled long ago, today the sup-
ece contains all the heat the planet could want, and more.
e d stanrl8 in its lest davs-h astrrm~mlcal
D ~ ~ m Bel& PAID
FREEDOM
tsrms. Like moBt plan& eo clone to t k k pmnts, it has
MILT MINIM
I
The exidmnca of tons of m d , much of it fn a relathrely
PUR sla$ betwsm quakes, preeents a ternptlng targat for
e new form of**ni the Dewi efar svstan.At
present, not wen any of the s$llar netlons has pinneered
the means to extract deb, and effldently the valuable
molten mlnsrals frcun Balatu, but that hasn’t stopped indw
Mal teams from s d of the New Dreth states k w
affmnpnng it.
Evmy few months or so, a bam of anginaera arrives on
Bdah ready with some new schema. A recent PNJBU
i n v o h the raptd co&g and seizuFe of a section of the
metal ocean using ~ x p ~ m s hsuparmplant
n svstm mount-
ed on large kahtera. Tractor beams and m n explosives
have been used to pull or blast the valuable metals away
MAE~HON'S IOR Moono
rom the surface to waiting shtps. With each p m
ittempt, the pioneers step closer to profitability; they also A total of twenty-eight nalural satellites have b m Utled
ah the attention of observers from the Stellar Ring who moons by Dreth ashnnomers. Of these, more than half are
night seek to purchase or copy the ingenuity that the Deth irrelevant asteroids that fell into Amaethnn's g r a w well.
forge in Belatu's cauldron. Even the largest of this gmup has a diameter meaauring no
I more than 500 kilometers amoss. At the other end of the
CADROS spechum, five of the most massive have enough mea to
hold onto atmospheres of t h ~ own. l
:or all of the condibons that would make it m e likely to Penance, one of these and the dosest to Amaethon, suf-
;upport life-a nonmolten surface, protection from radiation fers forever under the skong electromagnetic flsld of
md geologic stabulty, among others-Cadms has won Me of Amaethon. Moreover, much like the planst Belah, it is
he attention that Belatu has. It's still inhnhospitable, but in a alowly being torn asunder by the gravity of tts parent
m cnnvantional fashion.Givan the presence of the more Other uninhabited moons of A m a e h n include
:omfortable moons of Amaetbnn and Caridwen, Cadros Cherbnurg, the second moon, and N~LUIS, the asvmth. Like
leans destined to an hsi@flcant and h d y existence. Penzance, they only see use as sourcen of mnaU mlning
concerns, as the absence of stgnlficant heavy metrrla on
APTHON these worlds make them none too attrsctlw for davelop-
ment h r b o u r g , in addition, has seen some BctMty as the
Mween the two Jovian ..--..la of Amaethon and Caridwen Galactic Concord has made it an oWaal base of operations
Ies the heart of the New Drsth Commonwealth. Of course, in the system. The Concord maintains a singh small domed
ieither of the two $ants draws much attenth for them- town on h b o u r g . Both the ambassador and the
iahres. At best, they reprasent abundant smcas of hydm- -ator spend most of their tlme on Fmend wurklng
[enfuel and a few Mbk gases. Instead, interest in the sys- closely with the New Dreth gweFnmsnt
em focuses on the lunar bodies orbiting the gaa @ants
at the heart of Dewi's habitable band
POPULATION
WI
4,s 3 0,523 SENTIENTS
Ran 91%
Orion Austrin 0%
Thddan Nariac 0%
Orlamu Insight 3%
Rigunmor Haiire 0%
Solar Borealin 1%
VoidCorp StarMech 0%
Concord Independent 90%
Dreth 85%)
nuell 9%
Sesheyn Tsa 2%
Mechalu Weren 64'
Fred
xireme H5 (Inferno]conditions prevail. Only on the coolest center of the nightside does the planet dip down into H4
t b
onditions and temperatures below 500' C. With skill checks every phase to avoid damage, at a cumulative penalty,
ven characters in hard e-suits will be dead within 30 seconds, long before the problems of radiation can come into
1hy.
Even starships navigating this dose to Dewi must be careful. Landing an unmodified vessel on Belatu's cool side is
ic!q given the planet's high rate of revolution around the star [one orbit about every 2 hours), requiring a
lavigation-system navigaLhn skill check at a +2 step penalty. Exposure to temperatures in excess of 3000O C is dan-
e r m to starships not specifically designed to handle such conditions. For each hour that a vessel spends within Belah's
rbit exposed to the sun, each of its comparhents suffer 2d4 wound points of energy [En) damage. Meanwhile, the ves-
el's armor will slowly be eaten away by the constant heat. Each hour permanently subtracts 1 point from the armor's
ffediveness. A shipyard can repair the vessel, but only if it survives the trip back to safer dimes.
I I
If a hero wants to customize a vessel spedically to survive super-Inferno conditions, it's possible to modify a ship
sing technology of the day so that it can survive temperatures of up to 5,000' C with regular maintenance. Installing
uch systems cost 20% of a vessel's total durability and '1,000,000 per 10 durability points of the ship.
I'
I
I THECO-ORBITEFU
THEDREWCOM~ONWEALTH
COUNCIL
I
Frm Lousanne's or Arb' sur$ce, the R!prlmm
thrllHng and man a little scary. ' b y can watch 81 their ek-
''I
1
.
%!.
I 1
. .
1
I
I
I i
I
OF THE NEW
AT THE BEHEST DRETH
DVENTURE
COMMONWEALTH
mw
a quest for perfection didn't occasionally mean gettlng October Corporation are both fictional entities.
However, after some careful digging and taking to
witnesses, the heroes can discover that the October
dirty.BACKGROUND Corporation ts a holding of Transtats Industries, a
The heroes are contacted, either by a regular agent or hm subsidiary of VoidCorp. Now e w y b m g seems
through a mutual acquaintance. Thereafter, a explainad, and the heroes can evenluaUy identifv the
prospective employer invites the heroes to a meeting man they met as leff Lakons es none ather than
tha~can occur in the Dewi system (in Chelt, for exam- VaidCorp executiva and deputy ambassador Om23
ple] or even in some other star system Introducing 23KIK [Jeffrey Rogers).Then they can either go after
himself as Jeff Lakons, the human male claims to rep- OPE23 or take thelF temv and evidsnce to the
rasent the October Corporation, a travel booldng com- heth and the Concord
pany that owns several shuttlecraft in the Verge. The Either way, they've been duped again-or rather,
October Corporatlan is owed several miuiOn dollars from the stari. The man the heroes met at the start of
by the moon-state of Lousanne, and Lakons has a writ the adventure wasn't really OP823, but a Dreth
demanding that Bastone Apple appear before an impersonator. The whole adventure hopes to frame
independant Concord court on Bluefall. Ths hemes' OB23 and VoidCorp, and the use of the heroes min-
talents are required as bounty huntars to deliver imized risk of discavery and increases their believ-
p summons of a
Apple, who has refused to ~ ~ 1 8 w ethe ability as vdtuessas.
civil court. A shuttle will await them on the Torpoint
spaceport to make a quick e d t SUPWRTING CAST
Layer of deceit are being used here. On the d a c e , For ti-& adventure, you'll need to create atatlstics for
LakonS story stands up to some checking. He does Bastone Apple, OP823 23KIK, and, most importanUy
work for the October Corporation, and the writ he a dozen nr so personal guards [Combat Specs) for the
possesses seems to be in order, as even former. OPE23 23KK is a Diplomat (Free Agent)
Administrator 'Eras could confirm. As delicately as Remember, the Drath won't ba p u h g up a hard-
possible, encourage the heroes to accept the &ion. fought rssistance during the i n i d stage of the adven-
The next stage of the adventure invalves going to ture They want the hemes to succeed in kidnapping
Lousanne and, essentially, Iddnapping Pitme Minister Apple, and their sacurUy forces may either be in on
Apple. You can play up this segment as much as you the conspiracy or diskacted from orders on high dur-
desire, with advanced reconnaissance, polltical ing their watch. Apple himself will play the role of
intrigue i n v o w the moon-state's bureaucracy, and wounded and lost while the characters have him.
possibly even the presence of other moon-states. As for OP823, his surprise at the hemes' accusa-
Ultimately, the heroes should find their mission chal- tions is not feigned. To be clear, he's probably been
lenging but not beyond their abilities. involved in operations and crimes that merit thls
With Apple in tow, the heroes return, as planned, to treatment, but for once he's innoceni of h e charges. It
their shuttle waiiing to take them and their charge to will be up to the heroes to discover this and then
Bluefd There. waitinu for them,is a m - u0- of more decide what to do with him
than a dozen !&I~&hers. The' heroas are m e +
en. Today, as Ferrand has grown more and more w t h g to continuad, and at 68,000,Lauceston has n- more
embrace a single powerful nrliryr g0-t the rift hss than a dv, Tilbrlburn,to hold its p&tlcm.
gmwn. Daphne Rtce (Hf/DrethiT0-6) and Man CoreUa Legally, Leuceston has E& power and votlng euthorltv
rarely a p e on issues, and the two haw had heated puMc within the Commonwealth Coundl. In redity, Annette
exchanges. For Corella, it may be m e l y an fssue of ambi- Mayeskl (Hf/Dreth/FA-6), a formar jpurnalist who did cor-
tion and the primacy of Ferrand; if the politics of the km h
t raspondance work on d swm of the moonstatss, warms
ever truly leaned fully back toward the old Dreth her bench in most of the monthly conferences without say-
Commonmalth, Bodmln would naturally edipse h a n d , ing more than a word. The attentlon of the Drmth
For Rice, such a goal doasnit represent M appeUte for Ccnnmonwealth seldom turns to Laucaston, and thet suts
power, but tha chance for a Drmth cultural reinvesUture. But most inhebitants of Laucaston just h e .
B V B ~she can't dose the doors to the star and the POMcally, the colony follows its neighbor Bodmin h most
frequent Influx of immigren$ and new ideas. Nor would t h k q ~The
. small populatlon i~ oriy known for a lndinatlon
she Iruly want to. But for her, the oft-argued need for unf- for mattam martial; once upon a the, the old k&
ficatlon only masqueradee as a maam to sabotage the pos- Commonwealth planet "burn hosted mora than e d m m
sihutty of a vibrant Dreth Gammonwealth. In truth,Rice mttttary youth academies. Om of the reaeons that Lauwston
b B h ~ ~ ethat
5 ceding additlord rights to a new g o v m e n t has n m grown Is that its children oftm t&a service with
will only lead to corruptton and htehctual dtshonasty. the Dreth Commonwealth's smallnavy, and even after years
of peace, they seldom return to their hrmw homes, choos-
LAUCESTON ing a life h the Bters or on another moon.
4: CARIDWEN'SMAJOR
TABLE MOONS
Bmlmh L0Uent.n m
Caridwen Candwen Caridwen
clagsz class 2 Qms 2
G1 (0 73 gl GI ( 8 4) 62 (0 96 g]
R2 (16r d w k ) R2 (13redwk) Fi3 (19ran/day)
A2 IN2, 021 A2 [Nz, 021 A2 (Nz, 021
P1 (04a h ] P2 ( 72 a b ] P1 (031 a h ]
H2 (180 0 H2 (16" C) H2 (-5" 0
0.24 ALl 0 37 AU 0 74 AU
6 270 km 7035 h 7380 h
42.8 daw 83.2days iii days
32.1 ho& 3.4 day5 15.5hours
13.9' 22.4" 4.30
1.07 1.18 0.97
'I
7 :APACITORS MATTER?
A few of the more careless soldiers and mercenaries of the Verge mocked the sudden interest in the technology that
rolled out of Dreth assembly lines. "After all,' quoting one Thuldan legionnaire, 'can a more developed rifle do more
damage or shoot farther?' The answer is no. But improved weapons do promise longevity and reliabdity. Dreth
capacitors increase the clip size of any energy weapon (personal, ranged, or heavy) by 100%. For example, arm-
der d e powered by a Dreth lanthanide capacitor can fire sixteen shots before decharging, instead of the normal
eight. In combat, that can mean the difference between running empty or shooting the enemy. If nothing else, it saves
the effort of frequent reloading.
Similarly, a Dreth accumulator (1 dwab&ty point system) aboard a starship can retain a charge of 20 power fac-
tors instead of the normal 10. Unfortunately, few Dreth shipyards still stand A small, privately held shipyard on
!des builds a few scouts and traders every year, but mostly does just repairs. Of late, demands for Dreth tech have
led its owner to build a few dozen capantors every year for off-planet construction, but the design plans and engi-
neering techniques remain a Dreth secret
As for reliabiliM Dreth capacitors are much less likely to fail. If using the 'Weapon Failwes'de (see Chapter 3:
Gamemasters in Action in the Gamemaster Gd..],ignore any result of 'Jammed' or 'Out of ammo' for a firearm
powered by a Dreth lanth cell. Similarly, in ship combat, if a system failure targets a Dreth accumulator, allow the
compartment to make a second durability chedt; with a success, the system failure is ignored.
High demand and the diminished number of Dreth manufacturers have raised the price of Dreth technology.
[ultiplythe clip cost (or accumulator system cost) by five times.
i
rl
VI QI m edd status amon# many of the S t a h
la from any of the ma rertul and pppd81- n a ~
UOUU ndt~render It ImInune to IndepEIdRIlt or
recently, the return to the b q a of
est, the Dawi sy5tem has netrar been &on& infhranced by nation assets-espedally thope of
another of the Verge gwermnen$. Buelnass and trede with cnntlnued ag~ressionin Hamma's Star
AB@, Algemmn, and even more distant Tsndrll haw been smd SxtSl'Ud spedes 8pparentiy
stabla for decadea At the samu time, relatlrmsbehrvaan Dewl have inagassd the nsed for d h n s e
1 and mat of the spgtems have m r been pwttcdarly warm.
Why have the Dreth and other Vergers hed such a aitfl- ~ J as one of the fsw star
m?
I
cult Ume g%lUng h the eark days comph is sy~t fensive rekg (Me !hptar
immcDmpetinginter~of~arnatlrmskaptmany
-..le 4: he VWin the SPARI)RIIR:campatp -1. AB hm
But been the w e for decades, the b6ckbone of the mkmlntz'
by four military cruhrere, m b of the
ecmd Gdaetlc W~F.The U&, ths ddsst
crash w&,
a had- Ve$r
m h d on lbrp&t, t v p l d y @ow8
k Sass0 of LDlleat Meanwhtle both
oast only a small defense fcm num-
men and wmm, mont of whom
meetkg d e d by the V e p Cwfedaration in rfmponse to double as mnetaba and peace offlcera
the d~strudbnof Hammer's Star-and the continuad cool- The rxuhere also play e Wor role in the internal poll-
n888 betwean Dewi and the rest of the Verw is sxplalnad. tlcs of the Dr&h moon-statm. While they've nwer been
in actual military aetlans, the fad that each of the
' I
' I
COMMONWEALTH DEFENSES e-e to one of the Dmth moon-states
i The other dtsedvantaa that the remota ems 8xplnM &&I mar space. CoreUa, for mmple,
i Verge d e r under is the need for organized de
armaments and streteglee. hlB cruisers.
andthousandmore
unlikely to &E&& smheyam to
take some d w h t in b&@g a few
seshsyana, dtlzens of the
Voidcmp,in turn,has re
I
its protocols, and its endorsament by the Dr
I
ernment, the VoidCorp sesheyan agents ere
tion to strike.
BACKGROUND
I /"
!
, I
rh
-E TARSIS
SYSTE
Located about three light-years away, the W star system houses the most populous mtflernent of the New Dfsul
Commonwealth outside of Dewi. Like the other four small sdements set up by the Dfsul (Thorn Malova, Sobel,
and Goddard], little attention IS given to the Tarsis system. Arrivers mostly ignore the tiny system untl a r m c e
of note or population of size can be found Vergers have enough to concern themselves with, and the I3ralh
Commonwealth's rate of growth has languished, concerns about the Dreth kig spreadkg rn a shpikmt arm
have diminished
Some eight thousand sentients, mostly Dretb, live on the worlds that &t lhts, an M4 star. Most of i h %dwell ~~
on Kliot [G3/FlZ/AZ/P3/Hl], a large, cool Class 2 world thars the best Tamis has to offer of .As
early as the settlement of the Dewi q-stmn during the Interbellum, the sy&m drew tbe a u m h of Dreth
Dreth forerunners explored Tarsis and Dewi simultanemly.The choice was made to colonka Dswi instead of l W s
because of the vibrancy and stability of so many near-Earth mom. Now, that hiice seems to nrperslng itsell, with
the population of Tarsis growing faster than that of Dewi Much of that QT&, though, c o w from independents
and unpatriated Vergars looldng for a safe place to maka a new start.
Industry on mot is slowly growing. The heavy metals so abundant in the p h d a nvst invite e x p b i i n ~and the
Commonwealth has put out a call, at the bktence of Mta Spinner of Torpoint, for skilled and prnksional manu-
facturing experts. The move is sure to irritate Arrivers and stellar nations that want more Verge systems as mer-
-
ts for their own goods and as places to grab raw resources, not Verge systems as SOUPCRSof competition.
r
i
C
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Especially when it's an expansion. A century later, the Nariace d struggle to
artificially generated ignorance, a conspiracy of silence cetch up with the achievements of othera
created by sentient minds. Such was the case with After Talbott left his namesake,no one made starfall to
Talbott. Only a few months ago, the only people who the system-or made a record of thair trip, at Isast-for
could readily reveal the star Talbott were a few stellar 156 yaars.
cartographers and astronomers working in the Verge.
Today, thanks to the leadership of four pioneers, that has THEAMBITIOUS PLAN
all changed. hople from Alaundril to Spes have heard
the name Talbott and its crowning echiavement, Thorn. In 2489,the destruction of the Silver Bell colony in
It's understandable that Talbott went ignored by Hemmer's Ster ehpok the people of the hrge. It was
humankind for generations. The dull red star, an M9- shortly after evmt that an enterprising-and
classed dwarf, has little to recommend it. The star itself wealthy-mechelus businssewoman named copil
is only barely worthy of the Temma put together a
name. Moreover, none of its plan to build a second
planets ere inhabitable. shipyard in the Verge
They're light worlds, too; any that could produce capi-
valuable minerals or heavier tal-class ships. It wasn't
elements lurk deep within the I :1 hard to foresee a future
planetary crusts, making it of struggle between
too expensive to mlne them. Virrgrps and whoever had
All of thaee conditions attacked Hammer's Star.
mede Talbott the ideal low- This level of tension
tion for a secret operatio proved even more true
Neither Vergers nor Arrive oncE the Arriwrs began
came to Talbott, and whi to show up after 2497.
no one was looking, fffl "'uggle demanded the
clever industrialists bu ttnunmt3 of war, even
Thorn 5uperpol.t Shipyar
in ten short years. And no
that the galaxy knows of I ,'atbs. In the 26th wn-
existsnce, the system w
never"be Wd 914!$$mflP1
from the S d a r e and tl
Regency to private entrepr
news and pirates wants
piece of the action. -.-z
HISTORY
. .
M wealthy a# %mumI lave been, she estimated that At the time, hieberg s m d as the VPof Shlpyar
she had leas than 5% 0. mney she would need to pt Operatlona at Ion Productions, the Alaundril-based corpo
the project r o b g and the conatructlon of the Shlpyard~ r d o n that would be Coptl Tmma's competitor. With a sin-
underway. So % m a began doing SOIIUWI# B ~ RWM gle &actton, h a grabbed a brilltant manager and
already known for: getting invwtmvl and ~ E F ~ I Rto~ Ssham technlcal expert and dealt a severe blow to Scott
the capital costs and the profits. She began lntervlewlne Wluiammon's company. Deliwring that blow pleased
likely individuals, ho&# private conferences with many of Lindaberg, who had hls own remow to dislike hls CEO.
"le rich and famous in the Verge h j i Lindeberg didn't bring more than a cmph of t d b
"he flrst pmon h a bro )iLindeberg. dollars in wets. What he had instead was the h l a d g
. . ..
r r r m ~VAN
~ ~ DERKADE
SHAREHOLDER, THORNINDUSTRIES
I
3eaciion score: Ordinary12 Last resorts: 1
A l l h
Acrobatics-def 14/7/3 d4s/d4+ 1s/d4+2s L1/0
Laser pistol' 14/7/3 d4+lw/d6+lw/d4rn En/O
'-d4 base situation die
Ddm~ns
(LI),none (HI),none [En)
I
h o r : none
skills
Athletics [E]; Awobatics [ll]-defensive [14J Zen-g [14J.
Modern [ll]-pistd[14h Vehicle [ 111-space 1141; Stamina
[ 101-endurance [lZ]; Business [ 12]-corpurate [14J
a u t [18]; Knowledge [12]-cumputer [13J languaga:
Standard [15h System Operation [12];Tacks [El-space
[14]; Awareness [12]-intui17m [15]; Sbeet Smart [12]-
criminal [IB]; Deception [lO]-bl~iff [ISJ bribe [lSJ
gamide [IZ]; Interaction [lO]-bargain [IZJ charm [lZJ
inbmidate [lS];Leadership [lO]-cumand [lZ].
Alien 3%
Sesheym 5% T"" 771
Mechalus. 39%
Fraal 12%
radiation wuld p r m prohtbitive to life. With an average
temperature hsverlng only 80 degrees a b m absohta KOJILINDEBERG
m, Hanah ia a frcnen and weless ball of rock glezad VP, THORN INDUSTRIES
&at ITA& heve been an atmwphm.
,d18 human T.eh Op
BLACKMORE iTR 11 f+11 INT 13 101
IEX 10 i+ij WIL 9 ioj
mi d i E Bledrmnrs, d fmIbswSrairrce lrnd ON 10 PER 10
lurability: 10/10/5/5 Action check 13+/12/6/3
~DDtncmm~~d.l\lmoet love: sprint 20, run 12, walk 4 #Actions: 2
leadion score: Ordinary/Z Last resorts: 1
&81F8, and W S r B a I i y M dlrerreasDnt0 vl8y
U(PdrS
named-brawl 12/6/3 d4+ls/d4+2s/d4+3s I
THEFOUCAULT mm ch pistol 12/6/3 d4+lw/d6+lw/d4m H
ASTEROID BELT
With the dearth of an interasbg planet in the svsteun, Infanrar
k n n a led the Bxpeditinnto focus on the smaller rocka and m o r : none (Lo,none (HI), none [En)
planetoids of the Foucault ABtamid Belt not j ut for secrecy,
but for ease of we. No ship bullt or refit at the Thorn ship-
ikik
,thletics [ll]; Unarmed [Ill-brawl [lZh Acrobatics
yards needs to negotiate the dangars of abnoaphsnr entry
IO]-zero-g Its]; Modern [lO]-pistol 1121; Vehicle
or waste fuel acbiwim~escape wludty. Thorn’s advertise- IO]-& [llJ land [llJ space [14J,. Stamina [lo];
ment to ths Verge makes just such s e h g potnb-bahs miness [ 13]-corporafe [16h Computer Science [ 131;
aimed hatght at the Alaundrll yards. nowledge [ 13]-lanpage: Sfandard [Ifi]; Navigation
Foucault Is a fairly dispersed belt without a 5sat deal of
l31-sysfem [14J drivespace I1 fih Physical [ 13]-physjCs
valuable minerals or metals to recommend It Metals can ‘1fih System [ 13l-engineering [ZU]; Technical [ 131
be foun4. hut Wminlng OCarrsyetinthe belt. The sblp-
-howledge:sfarship cons&uction [ZZ];Administration
yards need refined metals and dura&& not raw iron, cop-
+management 1131; Awareness [9]; Interaction
per, or alumirnrm orme. h a wants to m d SUJl re5nar- IOl-bargah [lZJ charm [lZ]; Leadership [lO]-impire
ies somwhe nearby and decrease her CorporeMon‘s
!4].
dependence on outelda sounes, but for M W she has to
focus on proving the Thorn ShipyaMis profitable.
88 aaterrdds have in common a dark skp, with the MB oji Lmdeberg, they say, runs a tight ship. Probably the
dun g h 1.74 W awqc None ofthem have an ainmphera,
ngle greatest reason for Thorn IndMes‘ growing suc-
3 s in the Verge marketplace, Lmdeberg served Ion
WhtChiE M t s L l l p m & mnstdarlnethatthe ~ m e e s u r e s
lrodudions and Scott Wiamson well-until Copil Temma
Lmly 1,000!dlmmtm m% andmdmesses
1 less thanhalf of e ,ea!ized just what an asset Lindeberg was. With years of
lunarmaas. Ittakapjwl rn5yeers for an as$rnldkl corn- qerience in yard management, Lindeberg might have
pie$ w & ~ T a l b ~ ; t apaceyards
h e keep ~ p ~ -
hnaar a b of astmtdsbyorbbg at the re Zen the only man in the Verge capable of g*
rojed of the Thorn Shipyards.
on the
to live in mot!,and the loneiy estmdd remains home to I Lindeberg. Of late, he’s forced into the role of crisis
mogt vishrs t0 the ‘klbott ayatam that don’t wurk $rThOm
ianagement; not a day goes by when he doesn’t have
R cCllpOra$ hOU&lQ W I l p b X S S heve baeD hllh bib
I respond to one emergency or another. Most of them
W
the estemid%chnically*dto masrarddmcw of em from Thorn itself, and while Lindeberg could once
m h m , thEfI-8 batter kMwn Mw as the moet Ovqlrlced tribute it to “ w o r h g the kinks out” now he’s begun to
acmdatlrms tnthe Verge. Amom ltttle b i than~ a mf- ~ubtwhether he’s done the good job he was hired for.
fin andwwl Justas few a m d W cps$ upwards of8400 per :ost people believe that he has; he’s the miracle work-
nfetd q l m l e m suwdv -gokUp the ChOIEa b . that keeps the place going. All the same, he’d defi-
spew and pay about the m e amount-par m d h . ,tely love the chance to relax a bit-or find a capable
;sistant or two that could take some of the workload off
oi his hands
ZL. .
..
CHORN SHIPYARDS
A dlstant gravltk scan or radar pulse of WS aecticln of the
system might never reveal fhe shipyards to be awthiq
'i........ mom than another of the Foucault Belt'sml8Bhapm mcka.
I
c x.
CMAPMAN-CW TRADER
Irhnents: 6 Dm 24
ver Retlng: a ACE: 1 Mpp
Speed: 2 AUhour Berthing: 6 crew
-t srtnrIRp/hl
Command C d deck [O/O]
Stedth &nld (2/2)
Multiband radar (O/O)
Mass &@or (1/0]
EM detector (010)
Radio transcshrer (0/1)
Reentry capsule [O/Ol
Aiflodc (om)
Good computer cow (2/0)
Engtneerlns HypsnnagWc englne (416) E4/14/7
Autosuppart unit (011)
AdarY 8/8/4
Autosupport unit (011)
Weapon#
Stardrive scrambler (1/2)
Crew crew quark5 (1/0) rill,
Autocargo (2l.2)
la p.1.
I ~ 4 ~ B w e P f m%e) Damese
cannon 0 4/8/16 En [e] d6+2w/d8+2w/d6+lm 3
II
t \
T A R G ~ C L A SYSTEM
SS DEFENSE
BOAT
hmpartrnents: 8 Dur: 40
4aneuver Rating: -1 Acc: 3 Mpp
:mise Speed 2 AU/haur Berthing: 12 crew
w Cnaplulmmll sy.1.m@u/Rw) hp
- Command Good computer core (2/0) 12/12/6
2 Marginal computer core (O/O)
2 Multiband radar (O/O)
Mass detector (1/0]
2 EM detector (O/Ol
2 IR detecior (WO)
2 Radio transceiver (0/2)
2 Laser kansceiver (0/2)
Mass transceiver (111)
Good damage c m l ( 2 / 2 )
Reentry capsule (O/Ol
Airlock lO/O]
-2 Engmeering 1 Mass reactor (4/"]
Autosupport unit (O/l)
Engineering 2 Mass reactor (2r)
Induction engine 15/51
Stabilizer [1/0]
Autosupport unit (O/l)
j-6 Engineering 3 Mass reactor [W] I
Induction engine (5/5]
Stabilizer ( 1/O)
Autosupport unit (0/1)
7-9 Weapons 1 Plasma cannon in turret (4131 8/8/4
10-12 Weapons 2 Launch tube and magazine (4111 W8/4
13-16 Crew Crew quarters (l/O] 2/2/1
17-20 Crew Crew quarters (I/@ 2/2/1
uniqua characteristic
it and decided its fate.
the now-classic scenario of colonization,aban
resettlementj the history of othen, Such as
complicated and unique.
From the anthropocentric, perspective, the
TABLE
6: KARNATH
SYSTEM
Lvlnnurn lMvun Adamnun
bani Dewi Dewi Dewi
Planetary Class class 4 Class 4 class1 cIass1
Gravity G1 (0.47 g) GI (0.63 g) GZ (0.99 g) 62 (1.04 01)
Radiation R4 (100 remldavl R3 (50 redday)
Atmosphere A0 (vacuum) A0 (vacuum)
Pressure W (0 a h ) W (0 a b )
Heat HO-4 (400" C) H4 (300' C)
Orbital Distance 0.24 AU 0.48 AU
Diameter 5,580 h 6,812 km
Year 45.3 days 128 days
Day 198 days 34 days
Axial Tit 4.90 49.4"
Densltv 1.07 1.18
# Satellites 0 0
=-+n Mnchun
Dewi Dewi
3 Class 4 class 4
G1 (0.47 g) G1 (0.63 g)
R4 (100 r d d a y ) R3 (50 redday)
A0 (vacuum) A0 (vacuum)
PO 10 -1 W (0 atm)
HO-4 (406' C) H4 (300' C)
0.24 AU 0.48 AU
5,580 h 6,812 h
45.3 days 128 days
198 days 34 days
4.90 49.4"
1.07 1.18
0
..
1 STARIDRIVE
PREVIOUS REFERENCES
ine Karnath star system was lnboduced ln me
campagn semng wth a short descnphon
of its hlstory and its two most sigmhcant worlds (see
wtthln VoidCq (which would c o m to cd It treason).
More and more of Its w h t Employees gave away secret
informatlm and sabDtaged important plans.
Chapter 4: me verse] The Bhruusil chapter m the
As the decades rolled by durlng GW2, aven Voldbrp
couldn't remain unaware of data le& and internal strains;
Alien CDmpendum accessory provides addhnal
lnformation on three species that hve on the world
a number of h&ht agmte c m u under suspidm Must of
of Bhruusll.the bhruu, the blackworm, and the them fled to distant c o r n of space as e m as thay felt
razorcat Gamemasters and players may want to e cqoratlon's heavy naza. By 2440, h@hi lsiiders
revlew these references and keep them handy, thffi d that wan reloca!hg to a distant planet in the S t e k
--%on assumes such lnformation is availP- uldn't h a p them safe. So they Matad a plan to
thalr r e b e e s fer away, where they could never ha
by v o l d c q axkactlon and intmTogatIon l88ms.
rehearsal. The allens couldn't CDnCeal th& awn.y81 whe lyq k h .
the &tlE C8IllR bhhd hd
word for a mobile community, plural a COLONIZAIION
standard ellen Intagretton compact, he
No amount of parsueaton could hts&. The Inesara dspartad from VoiaCorp space late in 2448 and
that arrived gafBIy in b t h a faw months lab. Pcawrvingthe
the &Id Ilves' wq had to WqUerade Of behf lp'd VoldCoFp EmplOyeeS, the inSra-
view the mlsrdDn as only a partlel succeaa. To be sure, the
I I
! I
- _.
_. .
..:
>WR... .- __
hother bhruu lagend has garnered interest from h m
resident on and visiting the planet Like most legends, it's
told among d the abhaala; unllke most, the detalls of this
story vary liffle from one abhaal to the naxt The consls-
tency is remarkable, a w n what good storyttellers and pre-
varicators the bhruu are.
The story tells that when the first lurites [tha bhruu word
for humans, IiteraUy 'people of the moon') C ~ to RB h r u a
the bhruu did nut know how to react. Many of the oldest sto-
ries had pradided the possibility of other sentlent life, but
also warned that differences between bhruu and nnnbhruu
might be R SOWCRof connid. So, when Voidcorp arrived, the
first bhruu to see humans nacted hesttanfly
hthR fduwhg days, a- euna to thehhq
c ~ m al
vrslang many of the ahhaale before they had metth~delege-
tlon h m V o i d C q . He sp& in the of the bhruu,
&ell badly and with many min grammq calhg himself
sb5lCrak ('sharp grass). D q l t e hls mu$lIlus o d gaffeB
end laneueee biundars, staahurek m m p d e serhua me%
sage. He wamdtha bhrw that thay muldn't Mthe hui@
butthey addn't a h d to a n p the powerlulhangers &her.
lhey muat felen lntemt in lcdllin# thin odd mncapt of 'stellar
natk~'butdedlne any agresmenls far the moment
Now that the bhruu haw learned more about VoidCorp,
iweddv from the Inseers decades later. thdve canonized
~ I D C O RDESIGNATIONS
P 1
ininternalmama-
al satellites.Asteroids
organisms [A), and unknown life forms (LIl also have As weu, you Can use thesa dwi#momwhensver
other humanoid sentients) and bhruu don’t share ltfestyles ice of Thayne observed that il might have been better to
or common sentiments-yet. The dlffersnces between grant ownership of the system wholly to either of the two
human and bhruu still seem greater than those of many stellar natirms rather than leave Karnath divided end a
other sentiant spedas in !amn space, and most of the source of future struggle.
abhaala live by traditions that haven’t changed in centuries, While not ecatatlc with the results, VoidCorp took what it
out of either ignorance or COMdOuB re)ection of humanity. could get. Ships sped toward the b a t h -ern and
Only the o c c e s i d scream of a stership or skycar flying immedietely began patrols to demonstrate VoidCorp owner-
above violates the Illusion. &@ -( to harass Insight craft). Swn after, a develop-
On the other hand, abhada living near Kansas Station or ment taam arrived and set up operattons on Lheerghun, the
other colonies of offworlders seem a different spedes alto- fifth planet. Just ovar twcl thousand VoidCorp employees
gether. Thav use tehology extansiwly, cuetam deslgned have relocatmd to the system since 2498.
by frlendy Inseers to fit b h u be&, jam, or horns and Ib everyone‘s surprise, the last two y w s have passed
be manipulated by foot, tall, or tongue. They‘ve larply wlth ramarkably few confrontations between Insight and
abandoned the nomadic treditiw instead keeping to VoidCorp in Karneth A few VoidCory &@s capteins bluster
Bhusil‘s tamperete equator where thsy raise crops on and bully h Q h t vessels into random inspections, and a few
farms. Apiculture and mgation have extended what the computer systsms on Chearghun mysteriously fatl on occa-
unification of the abhaala began; an abundance of food and don.For two stallat. natim that ofim seem to be in a state
resouma means mora laiaure, culhrrd advancamwit, and of undedared m,the low-keyW o n has astounded even
wen travel. These bhruu are learning the advanced sd- Concord obeervers. Some credit the peace to a p o k y of
ences:subatomlc physics, eleciromagnetlcs, and graivity reform withtn VoidCorp.Others say that leaders of both p a r
induction. Thair enw into tha Gravity Age has begun ties, especially the condliatay Planetary Adminbkatoc
Meanwhile, the rest of the Karnath system, largely Heoren DeValk, haw been fmed to deal with the unpleas-
ignored by Insight and Wted only by the bhruu &nagha- ant fact of each other‘s mistarm, and the difficulties of
tion, haa m s s e d other visitors, both naw and old m g a colony l e m no t h e for ~ a s t ~ hconnia
d Om
oplnion m athlbutes it to lrmgstandlng tradition: Insight
RETURN
OF THECORP and VoidCorp worked together in the pa& and in the right
drcum9tances the two could Stlu profit heach other.
VoidCorp executives, wide wondering at the lack of com-
Only tlma will tell.
munication with the new colony on Bhusil, did not uncw-
er Ils heachery d 2496 and the resumption of contact
with the Verge. While aboard the Monfinc VoidCorp repre- ‘HE
L...- _.. CONCORD
sentatives protected strungly agalnst thla ‘ r o w theit of star Karnath has slipped h o a h the Concord’s grasping h-
systems.”They had pad for the exploration of the Harnath gars. With resources siratched so tlghtly awom the Verge
m m and the construction of h a s Station on Bhruusil.
e and its many growing star systems, the Concord has found
What right did anyone have to unlawfully seize VoidCorp it imposslbl~to devote the neceeaary expanditurea and par-
property? bight, in turn, made if clear that thousands of sonnel to every place it might ka.
Inseers lived on Bhustl, which representad its largest In Karnath, for example, Concord Administrators recom-
colony in the Verge. To fordhly remow cplonlsts who had mandad the CordrucUan of a permansnt base and frequent
been living there for the last 50 yeara would be reprehemi- patrols of the mem;diplomats who feared turmoil here
ble, given the Concord’s effltude toward self-determination. agreed But it didn’t happen. Even the good offices of
Undersecretary Michaal T h a p made the call for tha Mlchael Thayne can pry only eo many Concord dollars
Committee on Verge Integration. B h d , he concluded, loose from the Gala& Consulate, and Dther commitmen$
had bewme a planet of Insight in accord with the in& in the Verge took precedence.
pendence of Insight r e c o w e d by the Rem of Concord As a result, the only OW Concord pranence here for the
However, since the rest of the had M development last e w d yeam has been a singls Field Adminlskator. At
by Insight, VoidCory preserved i$ more general claim. present, this is Chae Soon-bok fHNConcdDCS-6). There
b i g h t ratained only Bhruusil and the free right of psaeage WM the short viait of fallow Admhis!~atnrMen Grant and
in and out of the Bvstsm In addition,Iuaight had to pay Dr. Aiusz Was d w their survey mission, aome three
reparetione of over 100 miUlon Concord dollars, years ago. Rumor also holds that a number of Concord
adjusted for the inflation of many yaare. InvaaUgetlve Bureau (CIB)agents work in the system.
The arbitrated agreement made M one happy. W come, The Cmmd mteslon in the Hprneth spbm is obsarva-
VoidCorp refused to recognize the independence of h i g h \ tim Without additid aaaata, ifs all that -@ator
and Inseers on B h u d were apprehensive about the Soon-bok (and the CIB operativae, If they exid) can do. She
appearance of VoidCorp vessels in the ayxtem. Some crit- has eight years of qeriance under her belt as an
A
. ring it to -..--.- .-Uon
worlds k e Catslog, Earth, or nearby Bluefall and Sues. that
statmnent mi& be hm, but not when considering-the rest
of our galaxy's plan&. Bhruus~lIS one of the few worlds
where man and women can walk freely wihut the need
for any technnlogy
h given the planet'e median temperature of 11 'C, ~ t a
to to rial remn mjow summem sadly tolsrated with
only the flhdest clothing. The wjnters there are freeling
and expose the unsheltmd to some risk, but temperatures
don'! reach below -30" C or so-aady tolerated by htdy
human settlers. Within 20 degrees of latitude, though, that
changes. whters canditlons are inhlereble, with tempera-
turea avaraeg -50' C.
Iha bhruu, with thetr thwt coata of hair, can tolerat~
these wiut~rs"hay have been ]mown to surv~vein polar
weather as cold ea -100" C for up to a week at a tune,
h w h they don't appear to enjoy the experience. Indeed,
they took pains to explatn to the Inseers that b u travel
thousands of &meters with the turning of the ~ a e ~ not a ~ ,
because of the cnld, but In search of fresh g r a terrlto-
~
ry. It's B h r u d e long orbit that lets them mow m8 the
s
planat a! all between ssa~ons.
The WgMPam of B M - I M ~ Ypsdand~,thanks to
a rather high gravity and bht ratnfaU-b nuhect to
1 I"
out; mDst of the p W e rain falls in itu equatorial maas. Ire
elso sub@ct to nwrgrazing, and ubhnrusa tradillPnaUy
spend much of their time monttorinPlg the condltton of the
mmaudrq lands, s d n g out patrols dozens of kllome-
terS frpm the main body.
m cuhx e and light indushy we changbg same of them
tradltlrms (see below), but terrdcmlng of$m the greeted
oppprtunity for -e, probably Wth e p a a alteratirm in
m 12
DM 9
CON 15
'*COUNCILOR"MEENH
[+I1
(0)
Durability: 15/15/8/8
A~~AAL
PER 8
INT 11
WIL 13
AcUon che& 12+/11/5/
Move: sprint SO, run 4 4 walk 6
Reaction score: Ordlnary/2
#AcUm:
Last resorts:
[+I1
I+21
.. .
.""
1
I-
ed the 'new ways' are more reslstant to predators and are LWNH ,
smwing m y The result: a population explodon Over Roaming far from the modern ideL __ the Kaanh are the
the laa 30 years, these abhaala doubled their size every baditionallst attitudes supported by the Luunh abhaal. The
decade or so and broks into pleces at an equal rate. Rarely, hunh wander over Bhruds surface from the tolambla
an abhaal may split due to internal connia or a dash of p e r dimate Mis in the extrema south to fust north of tha plan-
onalltles. The exposure to new ideas and new opporhIIIlties etary equator. Without the permanant hwne e n f w d by the
186made this sad event more mmmon in the last 30 years. Kaanh abhaal, the Luunh have only a helf-dmw m~dset
Slowly, this rend is reversing. The need to divide was campsttes to call thah own-thosa and all of the gmlw
Jnce dictated by M t e d grazhg grounds and the loglstlcal grounds that hlstnrlcally have been thnbs.
challenges in moving several thousand bhruu together The b h u of Luunh ahhaal mn't radtcale or t a r r m ,
over long distances. lbday, with greater food supply and nor are they nao-LuddHw of any !dnd. h!h the ubhruw
communicatim technology, many abhaala have grown of a few abhaala who follow the ways, WUW&
without the need for division. Tradition dictates that an (Om/Independant/DCS-4,) hasn't forbidden h@ bhruu from
ahhaal split when exceeding about 10,000 h u ; now, the using Inslght technology or cyber par,Indeed like mod
largest of them, Kaanh abhaal, numbers over 30,000. ubhruusa with an interest in planetary poMcs, Bahluurak
has undergone surgery to implant a BubdeTmal c o m u n -
r-- -NH ----- --. cations link under his mtghty jaw.
When humam say "the ahhaal,' e referring to the Perhaps because of the Luunh'e mndaratirm and its rap-
hanh.Not only the largest by population, the Kaanh ahhad utatton as an energetk abhaal with a young leader, tha
ms the most contact with outsiders, both humans and the conservative ahhaala allow Bahluuwk and the Luunh to
h e r sentient species of the Verge. B h u of the Kaanh act as their voice. It helps that the Luunh ahhaal's grazing
ipend their lives surrounded by humanity and its wonders- lands on the Heerhil plateau have become the subject of
vhtch are no longer wonders to them.. Kaanh and human dhpute between Insight and the bhruu (see 'The Heerhil
armlands along the Amughu river have grown to overlap. €"below).
Wdren of the abhaal are taught by both humans and Privately, Bduurak has littla Im for humanlly, despik
rhruu in the uses and advantages of technalogy. W e still the hbgs they have done and can do for the bhruu
row,many of them choose to install N U a h and other Meetings with Planatary Administrator DeValk have con-
tern of cyberware (see ghruu Technology' below), all to vtnced him that the Insem, for all their talk of an e h t -
ielp them batter learn about and deal with what their ened and free future, are just as territnrlal and competltiva
i h u s , Raahlak, c& 'the future of the b h u , for better as the rest of the stellar nations they daim to deplore. On
n worse." this distant little corner of space, it's hard for Bahluurak to
Because of its &e, R a m has instihtad some uncon- distingutsh betwaen the f~Iendiyparmtap Insight offers
mnttonal methods to govern his abhaal, unprecedented in and the absolute dominion that VoidCorp is kmwn for.
' its long history The seven females in his personal marhu'u
\eve become hls lieutenants, referred to as 'sububhruus'
Aftar all, once the b h u give up their somignty to a for
eign state, who h c
nows what will happen? Tha bhruu have
n a combhation of Standard and Bhruu that's common little enough say in the g a v m t of their m l d now, and
iear Kansas Station. The abhaal's annual councll in the as Insight citizens they'd ltk@ have lass.
par followlng his dedsion saw a close election, but none
iince. Contention between the mates, or bLrtween their will ENH L
md RaahlaKs, is n m allowed to become public-hey WhlletheKaanhr uunh I d i f f d from one
peak with his voice. another, they fall easily w i t h the range of &andads set
The Kaanh ahhaal is one of the oldest,tradng its geneal- over the centuries. Inalght observers, alwaye known for
igy through stories that reach back to the legendary times their perceptfve if @r!q eye, point to the M a d abhaal as
of Luumak and Aaleemak. Despite the abhaal's obviously a model of the poasible future.
liberal leanlngs, its ubhruus commands a great deal of The Meek broke away from the Chuunh abhasl (see
respect in the Council of Ubhusa. It doesn't hurt that the below) thrae years ago, creating a fourth ahhaal withln the
Council meets on Kaanh lands. heady farmed region near the jolning of the Amughu and
While intellectually aware that not all bhruu are as open- the Gheemee rivers. At only a thousand bhruu, the Meed
nhded or liberal as those of Kaanh abhaal, Inseem can is one of the smallast abhaala on h d - b u t that's up
i d l y forget that elsewhere Mruu have different, more from around five hundred at its start What makes the
mmrvattve ideas and follow the andent ways without Meenh abhaal unique is its embrace of human-atyle poli-
change. But here, near where the humans live, b h u of tics. Aageeak, its u h u s , has become known for contlrm-
Kaanh abhaal seem like Strange relatives, much like the dy seeking the opinion of hls bhruu when maklng ded-
fraal or mechalus, intelltgant friends in a lonely cosmos. stons of algnlficance. Weekly "town meetlngs'have bacome
iIi
' I'
if
1 %
i , i ,
i
7
,
FAUNA
L
-
Environmsnt: class 1
G R A P H GZ/RI/AZ/P3/H
uawl, and ita w w e
Encounter Chance: Possib
G m p Size: 3-12 (3d4)
Organization: Flock
Niche: Carnivore
a
Intelligence:High-order animal
GAME DATA
HEAVENHAWK SAS STAVON
STR 7 (d4+5] INT 4 (Animal 8 or d4t.j
DEX 15 (d6+11) WIL 14 (d6+10)
CON 8 (d4+6) PER 2 (Animal 6 or d4+41
Durability: 8/8/4/4 Action check 17+/16/8/4
Move: walk 4, fly 60
Reaction score: Goo&
Attacks
Talons 15/7/3 d4+2s/d4+2w/
Bite 10/5/2 d4w/d4+2w/d4+4w LI/O
l i s BIG SECRET
m a diseasa that runs ram-
many areas of t h Stellar
~
Ring: He Isn't what he pretends to be. Fifty years ago,
L
P
?
of disorganization. Most Verge inhabitants enjoy a rather In practice, while any h e r [or wan an A m h r or
independent axhitsnce, and that regional effect d y exag- Verpr) can add to the pubhc debate, mDst don't take the
gerates the anarchlc tendencies of Inseere. tlme to read emyfhhg, muchlsps comment Faverthan a
Bhruusil is an exception. Planetary Admintstrator Haoren hundred seniten$ am rec-d 88 re& ctmmanMorn,
DeV& chosen for his demonnlrated competence in the each withhis or hac ownemall body of adhamts a n d h .
Stellar b g , is old m h to remember the skict way of life Thus, wan the Plan- Adminielrator can't ignnr~a n d -
I under VoidCorp. While his @le of govmmlng hss nothinu eraus speaker on a whim; much of his tlme must be apant
on the draconian syetem of the megacmporetion, it ii rdg- rallying his own suppnrtara or mollifvine t h oppcliiltlmL
~
nificantly Werent from the free, h s t anarchic way into While they have no offldal mls, these a n d crftlrs
which Inseers of many Stellar b g planeta haw ssttlsd. bridge the gap betwsen jDurnallst and Bmremment func-
At present, around 100,000 Inseera live on bud, tionary Indeed, many of them have anme po- witbb
along with a few thousand other humans and non-native the admh!&atiive bureaucracy on Bhnnull and fake
alien sentlents. No standhg legisletlive or representative orders from DeValk-wen 88 they poat their ophlor~for dl
body exists on BhruusiL Gwsrning such a small population to me e moment later. It's qutt~eaay to create sn unreel%
follow a simple munidpal-style organization. Haoran acta tered shadow program to deltwr the Insem's b#hg prom
as administrator, ta!dng his cuss in lewtion and legal while the author basks in b h f d namdaawess. The worst
affatrs from Ineight itself. Most governing on B h r u d hap- case for DeValk is dealing with them anonymous a m
pens within the Grid'# discursive pathways. The moment an wi
Inseer has an idea about a new way to do somethfng or,
more o h , disapproves of DeVawB exemtlva decisions,
anyone in the system can read his or her statement in StarUrg in 2500, a group of Inseem began a ea& of
moments.An entire IegIslaUve session's proceedhgs can damning comment&e on the pnlldss of the DeValk
be compressed into a sinb day of argum~nt,counterar- admhishtion. Obvious bhruu sympethlzsre, the "RRelw
w e n t , and rebuttal. And without the slownsss of inter- Dudts' [ao known for thek Grid shadowa) mica StFenUDus
stellar communications, conversation and dlsputes can be objection to the 'obessdm with exphilation' d thn Iuaight
resolved quic!dy [wanif not to everyone's satiafactlon). government on Bhruusil. Mom and more of the plrmet is
I
many & o r b end say, Tlnd what you need there:
ERGHU
j!
I
i
'
Phase I of the projact released dozens of tailors CHEERGHUNPOPULATION
microbes, many still in some stage of r e s a d and tent&,
into the planet's ahosphm. Mast of them died immediate- 14,092 SENTIENTE
ly. A fmv of the sodium-basad microbes, though, bonded H~~~ 97%
with chlorina to form salt and reproduced geomatricdy.The Onon 0% Austrm 0%
microbes, whose cdlnatlon is now sealed as propriety Thuldan 0% Nariac 2%
informationby OP412's division, haw already reduced ths Orlamu 0% Insight 0%
hlorlna content of Cheerghun's atmosphere by almost hal' RigunmOT OYo Hatie 0%
ialt, the chief byproduct, litters much of the plan- SUI Solar 0% Boreah 0%
face lika a thin layer of e m . C m t estimates hold that VoidCorp 97% StarMech 0%
within three years, the last of the chlorina will be gone, leav- Concord 0% Independent 1%
ing Cheerghun only a shadow of whet It onw wan. The Alien 3Yo
Sesheyan 83% T'sa 1YO
raport describes, in a fooinote, the predidable resulb on
Cheerghun's indigmow Me. Extant Me has been reduced by
Mechalus 7% Weren 1%
Fraal
60%; slightly higher mortality rates among the Bora ME
ao/o
forms should quiddy carry o m to the fauna.Within a yea
no native llfe will be present on Cheorghun
Some say that the mport is a lie meant for the executhres, half of theVnldCorp Employees the syslem. The c o ~
thai it's not possible for the microbes to be so successful. structlon of protected housing proceeds slowly 011
Mhm agree, but claim the r e p d ~dupbdty was meant to Cheerghun-sdentlfic endeavors have higher priarity than
t Inseem on B h d and p r o d them into offa~~Iw the COmfOfl Of hPhyRBR
LA that VoidCorp could teke to the Concord. A third voice
says it's all h e , but w m of unforesam CUIISRWIK~~ 'HE OUTERPLANETS
from tha uncontrded microbes, clalmiq that chlmlne gas Beyond Cheerghun, mother sight planets slowly wind
will nniy betha first to fall Salt may be harmless, but what around Karnath. Mostly md, Maless, and airleffi rodis,
of sodium permdde? How much bleach can VoldCorp stand? only a few have attracted any intorest. Following traditbn
Only a few people are h a position to v d y the report, b e a d y entabllshed, the h e e m gave the honor of namfng
and theyre not taWng. Its h a d asserllon~should be m y these distant worlds to the h u , who before technology
to c~nitnnwith a singla ~ ~ & m s h i por even a telescope could never eea them with the naked aye. In bestowing
based on Bhruusfl. However, patrol craft forbld approach to hair namas, Saaklhlak, a formor ubhruw, conUnwd the
Cheerghun by any non-VnIdCorp VESEE~.And since 2500, custom of commemor bhruu legand.
the InsInht admlrWaU.on on Bhruusfl hasn't daesed date
from public telascopea that viaw Cheorghm AdmWskstor
DeValk refusas to comment on the Isnun. M e a ~ ~ h t lStage
e, Meachun in the prototypical outer a spherical rock
11, oxygen crust mbing, has bagm on Cheerghvn. The first with a dead core surrounded by a thiD l a p of watar and
processing stations have h e a d y been built to release oxy- ammonia lea. No one has vialled Meachun since VoidCorp
gen fmm the crust into the planet'a h a p h a r e . resurveyed the sptm In 2498.
M e a w an ubhruus of Kaanh abhaal, was the first
chieftain to reach a peacaful accommodamn vdth the
humans visiUng E h r u d Raahlak, the currant ubhruus,
sometimes gazes up into tha Wht sky, holdnu for the
tor on Bhruwfl. At presant, it demonstretea d y mlnlport m 1 b l e planet as if 8
capadty (see &ptm 1: .!&pu&p Hay in the StUShtp
accessory). It has no ablhty to repalr capldal ships and can't
wen handle mare than a few acoub or light freightare. The Ghiikuns only mi I$ oblong shapa, prob-
sole advantage that the starport enjoy# is being in orbit For ably the result of a codslon millennia ago. The bhruu dirts-
ships without induction mgtnes or planetw thrusters (or b a d the planet for Ghllkalg. an intelligent but mjs8hapen
with crew unwjlling to descand planstelde) lt'e the only bhruu who dasertad his abhaaL
choice, and damagmd vassels am often d e r not ratreatbig
to a planet's surfece.
VoldCorp reapacts the rules of space and the Concord. One of the two deso s t d y recefve VM-
Any vessel in need of rapaim in the Karnath qmtm can h e , this claes 4 mld became hum to a StarMech refuel-
q e d at laast smergancy weirs at the starport, up to and lng LIUIPOS~ in 2500. A lonely lmle padport Waf$ the arrival
indudlng a tractor tow to the &anon. of StsrMsch wssds, and three wan lmdhr Btewards put in
II I
/I
I
HOOK:
AWENTURE MUCH
ADOABOUT
THE DOCTOR
The gift of cybertechnology provided the bhcuu with interview the good doctor. Though she pres- a
the power to share in the marvels of the ZGth-century cordial exterior, Dr. Jeta reacts poorly. She doesn't
g M . For good or ill, w~lutiondidn't steer them into want the heroes examining her axperimental data m
the humamid model that dominates the stars around her notes on bhruu technology. It% pmpriekry infor-
them.Without assistance, they could never really par- mation, she claims, and other than flatly w g any
tidpate in a culture forged by and for humans. involvement, she refuses to discuss the subject
Technology promises to answer evolution's shortfalls. This may raise suspicions, and the hemes will have
Fitangly enough, the chief archltect of hhruu neural- to dedda whether or not to atlempt wme examinetion
interface technology is a mechalus, herself a living of the doctor's data against her will-by force, stealth,
example of the merging of neuron and sllicon. Dr. Iko or duplidty. MeanwMe, Dr. Jeta beglns her own imres-
Ma, now the chief cybemgeon of Hadrian Hospital, tigation, !mowing that the bhruu cybertechucbgy has
designed most of the bhruu cyber gear; implants a fatal flaw. Bhruu neural connections work differently
based on her designs are the only ones available. than the mechalus and human templates she began
In the last few weeks, certain mnts have begun to with. It's posslble to manipulate the intafaces that
suggest a massive deception at work. Could the doc- designed to cause a biofeedback loop:
tor's engineering marvels conceal a plan to control ator can not only communicate with the
bhruu against their will? their cybmare, but elso take aontrol of them Dr. Jeta
has concealed this i n f m t i o n because she knows the
BACKGROUND harm it could cause the bhruu, and now she
At the last Council of ubhruusa, several attendees know who discovered the secret.
experienced blackouts (or claim to have). These At some point the doctor's investigation will
ubhruusa say that they have no memory of the events
of the Council, although numemu6 obsenrers saw
with the heroes' own. Together they should be able to
locate the culpritan Inseer student at Staahurak
,
them there, even making speeches dedaring their Studio who stumbled onto the problem and explaited
opinions on various issues. it for IS own amusement. No malice was intended,
In a similar circumstance a week earlier, a group of and to date bs pranks have been harmless.
outcast bhruu males led a parade b o u g h Hensas In the end, thfs plot exposes more than it solves.
Station, kiddng and bleating all the while. They came The hemes will have to he both clever and lu
and went without an axplanation. The youths denied keep any word of the flaw from going public
their partidpation later under questioning; most problem is, both Inseers and the hhruu h f v e adopt-
observers aitributed it to the Mruu's playfulness and ed have a natural aversion to secrecy. Without that
propensity for lying. secret, though, much of the bhruu population, espe-
Now the bhruu leaders are beginning to wonder. One ciaUy those dosest to humanity, are at risk of ~lcplaita
thing shared by all these individuals is that they have tion by anyone with a radio and a c
gone under Doctor Jeta's knife; each has cyberware of bhruu benefit so much from the& cyberw
the latest fashion. Through a connection with one of the long a6 110 one kncnows of its Achilles' h
abhaala or Insight bureaucrats, the heroes are incident Meanwhile, Dr.
approached and asked to investigate the phenomena. her labs, desisning cybe
I n t e n r i m with the subjects don't prove much; they out this flaw.
remember nothing, and physical examination of them
or their cyberware reveals that everything is working SUPPORTING CAST
perfectly. None know of any enemies who would seek If you need to expand on the state for I)r.Jeta, start
to destroy or manipulate them. Ths ubhruusa brought from the Amazing Doctor tamplate in chaptar 6: Hhe
no special agenda to the last Council, and them's no Supporhg Cast in the Gmmaster Guide Durmg the
discernable pattern to their activities. Maybe the c o m e of their investigations, the h e s are likely to
events can be explained as psychotic or schizophrenic encounter technicians, doctors, and students. Use tah
episodes-mass hyshria. Ordimry end Good Doctor and Technician templates
Lead the heroes on the wild-goose chase as long as in the Gamemaster Gufde. Encounters with bhruu can
they can stomach it They'll probably become quite be handled using the information in the Alien
frusbated, but before theyre done, make sure they Compendium accessory.
YSTEM b 0 E DRETH PRESENCE
VvWa intsrstellar obserrrers contlnue to marvel at thr, rela- The New Dreth Commonwealth and Insight are nearing
thre hammy betlveen Iusieht end Voidcorp, the people of an agreement that may have an impact on Bhruusil's
the Kamath t r y s h haw local c p n c m that are a n y t h g and-based defenses in the near future. In December
but harmordous. The bhruu, havine ieluned ths art of w-ar 2501, representatives from both nations met at an
and i$ in&vnm&, Uueetan open mbenion should their mdisclosed location for a week of intensive diplon
world be despotled. Thsn thara's the ubiquttous presence of iegotiations. The primary topic of the talks was the SLd-
uncoa$nlIed hseara . . . . us of Dreths living in Insight space.
The New Dreth Commonwealth, based in the Dewi
INE bNOlR fbSlaN! @em, claims to be the legitimate government and
Long coluurrr~nua popular Inseer, perhaps RVEII owmen iolitical heir to the now-defunct Dreth Commonwealth,
to bacnme hutery Admlnlstrator, spsdd Managar b h e lestroyed by its erstwhile ally VoidCorp in GW2. Dreth
La~h has raslgned her post w x p e c t a ~ Without
. com- erritory was located in the region of space that now
ment, she boarded a shuttle that would taka kar to ARM ncludes Insight territory. Insight was the second stellar
and from there to Btere unknown. In a public stabment, lation, after the Galactic Concord, to recognize the suc-
Admirdakator DRV& d d , 'It is with deep rsgret that I say 'essornation to the Dreth Commonwealth, a move that
uo&ya ta Specid Manager Len& on behalf of all urprtsed many political analysts considering the sover-
Bhrwd. It goes w i t h ! sayhe that in wor!dng togsther for Nignty issue over former Dreth space. Many of these
i
'I
the last few yma, WE had become dose frlenda I hope that nalysts concede that Dreth assistance was likely key to
ehe can work Out her p R r 6 d f d Y issues and that 1cm xiight's independence; Dreth commandos made strikes
,galnst key C31 (command, control, communication, and
Dark rumors m m m d Lenb's redgnatton. According to itelligence) sites during the secession. Even VoidCorp
her dose frtends, ths dedsion comes at a cnmpiale sur- dmits that Dreth terrorists committed "numerous crim-
me.Only a day before she s p h of long-term plans for al acts of sabotage, assassination, and theft' in support
the culm.And why didn't she even atop to say farawell to f Insight's treachery.
the peopls 8he h d and worked with for years? Many of the Issues s u r r o w h g the disposition of the
dreth in Insight space are nearing an agreement. Dreth
"TWELVE
DUCKP
CONDEMN demands that ethnic Dreth in Insight space be given the
WATER PIAN
opportunity to migrate to the Verge has met with sup-
prisingly little resistance from Insight. Once the New Dreth
negotiators withdrew their demand that h g h t financially
assist e h c Dreth, h g h t resistance evaporated.
What has resulted is little more than a token agree-
ment, since Insight has to do little more than allow free
emigration. As this has been an Insight legal policy from
"i inception, Insight does not appreciably lose any more
ian it might have already. StiU, the agreement, should it
be signed, symbolizes to other stellar powers the two
nations' willingness to put aside their individual interests
~ favor of an alliance beneficial to both. i
If the agreement is signed, it will mean an exchange .i
~ assets in the Verge. The New Dreth Commonwealth
..ill gain much-needed computer system upgrades and
communication infrastructure development, and Insight
--ill see the addition of a company of Dreth light infantry
I its B h u s l l colony in the Karnath system. Dreth light
infantry has a reputation for &illand toughness. They
will serve principally as cadre in the development of a
ilitia on Bhruusil.
For d of the science of humanity and the species it waterfd 11 was whih h and his p6rtnar w m sdmir-
hae befriended, tt'e alarming that a
wants to know
&ut what the edanweir
- L ~ I I W Ioama
I uaia
i: These statimtiu3 d e c t a nonprofessional e hamistry: Series I
WB hunter Uvine and workina in one of O a n d s v Environmsnt: Class 1
c
GRAPH: GZ/Rl/M/P3/H2
Biome: Temperate and 0quat0rial~0nes
Encounter Chance: Unlikely
STR9 (2d4+4] 1NT9 (2d6+2] Group Size: 1-6 (d6)
DM 11 (2d4+6] WIL 10 (3d4+2) Organization: Communal hierarch-
CON8 (Zd4+3] P E R 8 (de+$ Niche: Advanced hunter
Durability: 8/8/4/4 Action chack 11+/10/5/2
Move:Run 18, run 12, wslk 4 #Actions: 2
Reaction score: MargmaVl
bionic enmrqy points: 4
imnery and violence. The MdEnt tales of such shlfe are
Atluh repeated on traditional occasions beslde ornate heplaces.
Unarmed' 9/4/2 d4s/d4+ls/d4+2s LI/U
Rifle' 12/6/3 d4+2w/d6+Zw/d4+lm HI/O NOBODY'S
PLAYTHINGS
'+d4 haw situstion dis
%nt tha edsnwuir muskata as the .30 bolt rifle described %ddyhars!'&d one of the first Ctmcordahs to meet the
in Chapter 9: Wenpons and h o r in the plavsr's Handbook &IW. While re6arring to a fsllmK sentient as a humen
cblkrs doll Is fhougfRless d Impolitic, irs understandable.
tImhtts.3 Bady am& and ahlitell, a typical edanwe is ahumanoid
+I resistance modifier vs. rangad ana& h e body 1s ccwmdWithpiu& russet-md fur. onlythe five
+2 resistance modifimr vs. psioNc attacks hgers, two oppoppsehle thumbs, and palm of each hand have
Armor: none &I), none (HI), none (!kJ qosedSkhL Ihebuahyta4dusuallyshlpedwithmdand white,
reaches anywhm from .3 to .7 metw fnlength.It's not espa-
sldb deuy d w ; t h e edEanveir workwiththsir nimhle hands.
Alhletics [9], Unarmed Attack [SI;Modern [llJ-rlfle 'Ibner fur of pale white or cream covers the edanwe's
[la. Movement [E]; Survival [E]; Hn~wledga [SI; face m p t for the m d e , which is dark red; the f a d fur
--
Awpnnsss [1O]-parception [ f Z J Reaolvs [It+mmtal darkam with age. An sdanwe's face is marksd with stipes
[ I f j . Investigate [lOl-tred 1121. Interaction [ that roughly correspond to the location of egebrmrrs on a
Tmlapathy [8]-mtscylO). human, though their ability to convey expression is limltsd.
The lips are thin and often fail to conceal sharp white
teeth-the sdanweIr enjoy a mostly carnivorous dlet. Small,
Urbanizetlon, tvplc@ a &end of progress, is t h bane
~ of mobile round e m perk up on either side of the head. The
tlme the peopb of D a n d have bright, curlous Byes are especially keen; edanweir g a h a
er fn dtpor town, somethtng col- Btep bonua in any Awarenw check hvolvha vision.
CULTURE CLASH
' IE Dutcrrms of 8 chance meeting Wlth a p~upof mdanwdr
R
is rmprediaabls. Many edenweir mmalnQllorent of the plw-
BllDB of allens on their ml and 80 react with alwnb the
d
a human head-and tha faster tha tad thrashes, the more of hnaliness that leads to salf-destruction, crowding
iutense the emoilom An M w response is w e d by puehes edanwelr into a furious rage. The Ilmlt is differ-
a twttch of the tail lllabrs wuhout tails have learnad to ent for each edanwe; some can tolerate the proximity of
mlmic these eeeturap with mn ann bahind the back. several hundred, othars no mora than fifty or 80. On
when m d h g and p-, edaoweir bow sllphtly, awrage, the population of an edanwe settlement num-
exbndfng ma hand to the ground and c o W g the mouth bers a hundred or fewer.
wi& the other, WMB kaepm the tall vislble. This neshm is One phanamwon can't be axplained by Concord sden-
rathar mora dlfflah for the taillass to imitate, and th& tis$: Edanweh haw mportad M effd from spa*
atbmpb sometimes cauw the edarwrair to break into loud many daw aboard a Concord autser, murounded by mora
hissinp. But a h n b g 88 the sound is to newc 3, tt'e than a thousand humms. "he dent h r y is that Um
n a h g tu be afraid d-only adanwe laughter. telapethlc ltnk is far waakar h,...,m edanwalr and ohm
spedaa lhsm withln thelr m.
IAL
- ION
one another [see 'Edarweir Bonding'a b m ) , and flnd t F u ~ widehi separated villages llnked only by the mqe of radio
dluda a h o d atate. They pIty [and don't really uudar- warn. But b@ this Is the ov&d!ag commuolty, tha
&e&) eentien$ wha apmd Uwir Ladetme elm.For edar- 'world-dia@,' whtch follave a slmpla mnunurh! sgstena
wa& e 'in community' is more than just comforttng- whila tha edauwair respect one aMther's bmmdar& and
tt's aesentlalto survival.. Forcedisokdlonm;uallyresultsfn privacy, the fruits ofthelrlabor am a d b l a to m r p a
Um edanwe's &e. Evan the worst offendm agalnst That includes everything from guns ta food to lumber, with
adenwe law or matan& whefhm of their own epedes or &&ips transporting needed supplies between W aIIm
8nothar, me navm laft alone. Death is far kinder. Only a few spsdalilems, such as the ram r a b and air-
Yat deepit8 theh nand to share thelr existence wilh 0th- shqr~,are reserved tor the alders' u88.
am,edanweh can't endure the press of bodies and Ikrmhdy adauwdr h a d from dags to In
Village of the R l l s
1
r -+
w
I
I
For the most pari, though, bavel over Danwell is resiricted to
elders who have survived their fiftieth winter (the Eldest] and The c m m of the e d a w d s psionic link is fln;t and fore-
have advice to give in times of need. navel between villages most a consensual one. While M one is WET let alone, fox-
also spreads concepts between the communities, lin!dng the mg one's way into anothds mind is not tolerated lb the edan-
people in a way that mere radio bansmissions cannot. welr, such an inbumon is far mora serious than ba@q into a
horns mvited; it is a vlolaiior~so hmdamental to be obscane
PuRlmcOrr The edanwe word 1s inmsh, 'defilement," and it dates
It's been well established througtL observation that the badt to the fearful tune of the Others' appearance on
unique edanweir bonding is strongest in pairs. The bond Danwell. The mysterious externals mindwalked into the
has been observed between hunting partners and child- entire population, not only harvesting the most pnvate
hood friends. Very rarely, it even crosses genetic barriers thoughts but fordng their own alien objectlves on the help-
and links individuals of different species. But most often the less edanwew, Their invasion transformed the cornmdty
strongest bonds are formed in mated couples. into something vile, and the resulting psychological dam-
A month ago, a few privileged Concordans, including age drove many edanwew mad.
Adminisbator Steven Hood, had the honor of witnessing an Mewesh is one of the few capital crimes under the edar-
-. edanweir wedding. Unlike the elaborate marriage rites of weir's sbaightforward legal system;anyone pradcing the
many sentients, this was a small fundion with no obvious defilement is lulled m e h a t e l y . Thus,the Concord requres
religious trappings. Only a dozen guests appeared, includ- any Ihdwalkers wihng Danwell to swear an oath that
ing one of the Eldest, who conducted the brief ceremony. At they d not engage in any form of uninnted mental con-
its conclusion, the couple ritually touched brows and twined tad with edanweir. Anyone violating that stricture 1s subled
tails in a physical demonsbation of their psychic pairing. to 0 ce, with M appeal possible.
Then, without further ado, the furry humanoids dashed off
OF THE ANCIENTS
to a private location outside the village. An elder informed - --#
Hood that they would return a few days later, at which time
there would be a community feast in celebration of the chil- As mucn as me enanweir respect their elders, they save
dren to come. thew humblest reverence for the Md-seers, called the
IANWELL POPULATI
878 SENTIENTS
Human 94%
Orion 0% Austrin 1%
Thuldan I Nariac 0%
Orlamu I Insight 1%
Rigunmor I Hatire 0%
Solar Borealin 1%
VoidCorp StarMech 1%
Independvt '
Alien 6%
Sesheyan I 74%
Mechalus 11%
Fraal 8% Other
I
gered species Meanwhde, whde all the Concordan
agree the census should be done, no one has volun
teered to trek over frozen ground to do
I 1
: I
3
; I
1 :
' j
9
I j
i
!,,
I
Village of the Falls by the Concord, is Me mom than a
hunttrq camp. Deeplts ib small populetlrm, it has m m d an
ontact between the Concord and the
age is located nnly e few Idl~metm~ from
. Also nearby is a fiat area of rock where
I
THEDOWNFAL
Rlehtfulhr dm&d as one d the meet breathtaklne nat-
"TH
ural wOndnre in the Verge, the ~ o ~ n f arepriman@
ll
well the beauty af Danwall. The hwdd Is e wstacfd
hath.
The &e relallonal?p mtabbhed wlth any of the stellar The splrltual bond between the adanweir, especially the
one between somn of the edanwak andant sentience expressed in thdr child-wm, r m t m
h,the Cmd has declared the q ~ -wtth Hattre taa-e of the Cwhnir. Rlgrlmages of the
barn quar- to any but h m r d vsgsels and p m d fatthful have alreedy begun to eseemble on Haven and
wnt, there am fust under 200 C p d popla harm, fir&, and it won't be long before the Concord will haw to
contacte IQUm, and ~ o h g l s t s . deal with thmands of sentien$ b i n e to touch the divine.
...
R----E
Concord has let b h d , E LUNMIC
day-tpdayauthm~tgover There's somet,, vwy strange ,ba une of 'kkath'e
orce the qclllrentlna. moona-it ahddn't be there.
well-mitad to his Early sumys of the Eldala aptem reveated the usual
d y acqutred law 5dcs of satellites about b& fts gas @an&, btlt Uey had
andaxpertenceindiplo- listad only twenty-one muons d r c h g b v k a h (me
been vary helpful in the W- Conwrd'e mad recent ~~amln~tion of the a y s b turned up
. The edanwsir haw come to anrdhar, whose nxkitenca has been c d n n e d by lndc
b 88 e quiet, calm man who thtnke before he peadent obwrvatlon. Rls ~ a a g ta miss unremarkable
Thay do not understand his mluctance to daal ~ ~ o f ~ ~ ~ t t h i a ~ h ~ a n i
wlth tha but resped his wiahee. Jupiter's Io] with a h h albedo-it's hard to b a h auyrme
Tu Hood%me& ha Beeke to learn as much as he can could warlook It.
I! ehntt the adanweir b a h a o pw any f d relatbrm Rumors abound, A popular opinion Is that the 'Othem'
with thal leedarahlp. Untll then, he prefers to m i d caw- mentlonad by the edanwl nmar left Eldala but ramatnad
iug any @e where It m@ht causa Irrevocable ham He is ham to observe the qe$m Wth the mhdof the Concord,
aware that Admhbtretor &la has entrusted hlm with a they abandoned their hidden base, whkh MW hibla.
p at mrqrnnsibility, onB bettsr suited, perhaps, to a more Mar all, ttiay sey, who c d d make a whole mam simply
mlor DffldsL Hn wants to rapresent the Concord well in its vanish? The scientlflc c ~ m m u n l t yd a d e s thia idea It's an
5 with the people of Danw~ll. Brmr of the or~@al surveym, thq hbt. Look how many
e aptm, the Concord has e slrgle nulser, naw m o m turnad up around the worlds of the old Earth
the flagshtp for a squadron of smaller aaft q&m BS datectlm imprmd. This one, they say, te inter-
guaranuna.The cruiser Is c o r n
F
-
7
ADVENTURE OPENEYES
HOOK:
There are many mysteries among the edanweir, but that the &&we% M e i is not in this wmmw.
n
none are so affecting as the rn&&we% @&. The The people wait for word hum the rest of the plan&
experience of contact with one is unforgettable; the But methiog is wrong. NDwhare am on^ the report-
few sentienis who've undegone it speak in terms of Q *ges and camps is there any sign of the new
'andent will' looklng out from the chlld'seye seer. The other s e m are growing agitated-% ale
Though there are only a couple of such neem in gmws dlm'is their only thought
each generation, they are quickly recugojzed by all It turns out that one of the hunting camps hasn't yet
the edanwe cornmunitles. Haw this happens has not reported in. This group had leit some mmdhs Barlier
been p r d y observed, though Concord xsnopsy- for the wilderness bordering the retmalhg southern
chologists speculate that it is glaciers; the last radio cornmunicetion wasmom than
Recursor relic' and that the ed 20 days aago, but this isn't unusual for an isoletad
able to detect its emotional rasonance. hunm community Now, hPwwsr, attempts to mise
The reverence in which the the camp by radio have been unsuccessful Sane dis-
ed children normally keeps nonnative sentients from aster has apparently befallen them-and the new seer,
himding. But nwv, an unhappy d i w m s h c e has who must have been barn since their departure.
given wtsiders the chance to learn about and even "his is an opportunity for the heroes to impmve
parlidpate in the search for a n Concord relations with the edanwetr, by helpkag out in
the planetwiae search for the mlsang party The air-
BACKGROUNB ship that bmught the &&we% $ab& is ready to
The heroes are part of a first-contact that's begin the hunt, and given that the nalure of the disak
recently begun working with llelai's Qnall hunthg ter is unknown, the edanweir are w i h g to enlist the
group, remrding native lege heroes' essiatance.
to yet more medical tests. As What sort of disaster befell the hunthg settlement is
hemes were brought into the presence of the rnehlafi- up to the Ga~mmaah.Perhaps the &eating glaciers
nwek yak& to be judged. They passed-though the kiggemd an earthquake that stranded the party and
medical experk learned nat to ask me than o m knacked out raciio commuuicatlrms. Maybe enragad
about exmining the seer. At one point during the ldtiete took out most or all of the hunters, leeving the
interam,the contad team bacame aware of a cantral chtld virtuany unprotected in the wiidmnesa. It's g v ~ l l
thought. It was not verbal but more of an impreadon, possible that smnething uncanny cut them o f f from
a feding of increased b h t and wisdom. The commin- their kin, such as e previnusiy unlolown Remsur
ity was a m of tt too, evtdently, for when the seer a d a c t or a hidden outpost of the Others.
had finished, the Elder spoke: % eye is opening: whars wortant is empheslzioe the bond
Every tail twltEhed in d e n t acknolwedgsment the edanweir amid the eximnn 1
Tlelai eqlrdns to the heroes that when a new envimnlnen%perhaps hinging the
, mahlebnwe% yah& is bran, the ather seeffi are muniv in the process Thta can be
instantly in community with the child They can't tell
1 where he or she is, though, so a call goes out to all
the settlements to search for the new seer in their
Uanwall-centered campaign,
ties between the adanweir and
I
1
Sixty days. In just over sixty days, everything that THEFIRSTOCCUPATION
Arrivers and Vergers took for granted about the Vieron neyears of the T h d ho ~lasting nearly
~ a ~ ~
star system ha5 become meaningless. century, went poorly for everyone. The Sothvec people
Well, not everything changed. Vieron remains an F9 had no love for their new and violent insur.
stw just as when first surveyed. Its ten planets con- genw went on for decades, overtime, though, he
tinue in their predictable orbits. Corazon de Fuega IS latiom of nddan and Sothvec laborers
still Vieron's secand planet and the focus of interest began mingle, to put it delicately. Faw Th&lans had
despite conditions adverse to life. In the broadest the genetic to the con&-
terms, human nature and the covetousness of stellar tionsj too many hbrins w B assigned
~ to duty
nations haven't gone anywhere. tours on Corazlin, and the government sent too faw
The change that has
since May 2502 is due entire
kroath. Verge colonies have
reported occasional kro
skirmishes and raids o s, to their conquero
more than a decade, Then came the
attackers never lingered newal of the war with
one spot for long. T e Galvinites in 2461
defenders either mana st over half of the
to chase off the kro itarins on Corazbn,
spheres and assault troo e best soldiers there,
or they were destroyed, rned home to fight..
was the case in t t behind were the
Armstrong and Croi
colonies. d down or who had
A thousand Vieron' en born and grown
still in the system p i n the system. So the
attest to a change in ccupation, whose
tactics. The other thous me grew less a1
might agree, but they w ss fitting each pas-
the first y & t p q ; N pr, g year, officially came
ably not the Iwb . . . '1
5
pulation began to we
-
0.60 AU 1.20 AU 1.45 ALI 1.68 AU 1.89 AU
7,340 km 15,340 km 8,888 km 4,288 !an 4,200 km
161.8 days 457.8 days 608.0 clap 758.3 days 904.8 days
20.2 days 5.8 hours 14.8 hours 7.67 hours 6.45 days
33.4" 20.1" 5.2" 13.6" 65.0'
4.18 3.67 0.9 1 6.03 2.51
1 0 3 2 0
m
SOTHVEC INDUSTRIES
Sothvec Industries was a business conglomerate that formed soon after the production UI me first stardrive!
Following the examples of VoidCorp and the Rigunmor Star Consortium, this collection of agriculture and livestoc
business interests funded colonies on a number of worlds. As the 23rd century saw the expansion of humanity an
human governments in space, Sothvec Industries profited from a power vacuum within its areas of interest an
became a potent force. Its business leaders made steady profits and never saw a need to change. Yet nothing boun
Sothvec's diverse peoples together in any signhcant way; without some unifymg ideal or vision, they had no rea
;on to stand together, and it was easier for many to accept the Thuldans rather than resist and be destroyed. Th
last Sothvec systems formally surrendered to the Imperial navy on September 19, 2356. The Empire would accq
mly unconditional surrender, so on that day Sothvec joined three stellar nations in Thuldan oblivion.
Former Sothvec citizens still live today, but under the flag of the Empire. Occupation troops emure loyalty to th
Emperor, and slowly the Sothvec culture has disappeared. Unlike the lingering memory of other stellar nations, sud
= the Dreth Commonwealth and the Sultanate of Fomalhaut, the Sothvec way of lie seemed to dry up and blov
3way like so many dead leaves. About all that Sothvecs are remembered for now are some of the original compa
xfs advances in adapting Earth-based animal species to life in space and on alien worlds.
Should a player wish to create a Sothvec, treat the hero as an independent with a -1 bonus to all Animal Handlin!
;!dl checks. Most of the gal^ will consider him or her a citizen of the Thuldan Empire.
The people of Algeciras and Tavira wept, prayed, and
vatted for their end. A few fled in skycars to the mines or
he barren countryside. Days passed, then weeks. Finally, liga 9 is a dull red dwarf star (Verge coordinates:
h a rare moment of courage, the manager of Algeciras ‘.45/-3.53/-1.543 around which three lifeless
flew in a skycar to Ja6n with some of his police. Staring rorlds orbit. The Galactic Concord records no settle-
through its bansparent dome, he sent images of aliens- mts in and no claims to the system; in fact, no one
universally recognized as kroath-wandering the strew i believed to live there. The Thuldans know better.
without a human in sight. He also reported a dozen 3- Riga 9’s sole value is that it lie5 a mere 3.88 light-
meter green spheres. A few minutes later, several of them ear5 from Aegis-a star system in which the
row into the air and ended the manauer’s bansmission. huldans have a definite interest-and the Empire
Little changed over the next several weeks. TILG .ikes advantage of this. TheRegency government
Vieronites cringed within the two domed settlements they and the Galactic Concord might protest a fleet of
had left. Each week, scouts risked their lives flying by J a h mhuldan cruisers gathering at Aegis, but they can do
to confirm that the krnath were still there. The Viemnitas ltle about warships lurking in a nearby system
watched in surprise as the invaders dug in, setting up for- The Thuldan navy deploys vessels carefully
fifications, watch towers, and embankments. Such defenses round Riga 9. Starfall detectors in Aegis can sense
weren’t needed against the pathetic force that the Vieronites lip movements in the area, and the Regency
could muster, and the Concord’s information about the lready suspects that Riga 9 has been visited by
kroath bad never mentioned this behavior. 3pital ships. A few starships are always present,
ut there are typically never more than a cruiser or
YO, unless the imperial military command orders a
HEROICS
IMPERIAL uildup prior to engagement in the Aegis system.
Meanwhile, the Storm D l s y raced to carry word to the 01
side of what had happened. With three starfalls, its 101,
---- I / /
--
LEGIONS
THETHULDAN
For more than a century, the Legions were the pride
of the Empire. Sadly, as the bitterness of defeat and
the expectations of more losses sunk in, the Thuldan
Legions lost both their heart and their legendary
valor in battle. In the years since, Emperor Regist
has made it a priority to restore the Legions' esprir
de carps. In the last decade, he instituted the use of
ancient Roman ranks. In addition, each unit was
assigned a standard-bearer.
It's strange to encounter todafs Thddan Legions,
equipped with fine 26th-century gear but calling
themselves by outdated names. These take some
getting used to, especially for those used to more
modern rank structures. Arough comparison of
Legion ranks follows.
Legate General
Bibune Colonel
Prefect Major I
Durability: 12/12/6/6
ULDAN
numan Combat Spec
INT 9
WIL 10
PER 8
Action c h e k 13+/12/6/3
#Actions: 2
0 Reaction score: Ordinary/Z Last resorts: 1
a Flaw: Code of Hono
it llltadrc
e Unarmed-power 13/6/3 d4+ls/d4+Zs/d4+3s LI/O
e Short sword' 12/6/3 d4+lw/d6+lw/d6+3~ LI/O
9mm ch pistol 9/4/2 d4+lw/d6+lw/d4rn HI10
llmm ch autorine2 12/6/3 d6+lw/d6+3w/d6+lm HI/O
' be a +d4 base slluamn die for skill chedrr;.
Use e -d4 base Sihiatlm dle for skill che&.
Defnws
Body tank: 2d4+1 [LI), 2 d 4 f l (HI), 2d4 (En)
Cerametal shield3:+2 &I), +2 (HI), +2 (En)
See h &Equipment Guide.
SkiUS
Armor [12]-powered [13]; Athletics [12]; Heavy Weapon
[12]; Melee Weapons [12]; Unarmed [12]-power 113
Modern [9]-rifle [IZ]; Vehicle Operation [9]; Stamin
[12]-endurance [14]; Knowledge [9]-& aid [IU]; languagt
~ u l d a i i[IZJ language:Standard 1111; Awarenes?
Resolve [IO];Interaction [E].
i).
_-
c ^.
s
E
61
T Compartments: 4 1 MANTICOI
Dur: 20
Maneuver Rating: 0 Acc: 2 Mpp
Cruise Speed: 1.5 AU/hour Berthing: 18 crew12 passengers
WaLhqm Dah
System Acc Range m) %e Damage Actions
Mass cannon 0 5/10/15 LI (p) d6+2s/d6+lw/d6+3w 3
/
reduced to 1.49. When en gin^ icand third 1 eromte ec duetrlas bullt Algedras in the
must dsd with e perfsd wel$ltless, zero-g Bllvfronment flnd. Surroundad by volcanic dangere, ii'e elso &ER to the
The haat regulatorsthat cool the dome ara filled with gas largest depoeits of heavy metela on the planet, thrown up
at temperatures near absolute zero. An a rwult, the thlrd from the depths of the mantle by Bary tedwic fnrcm.
level in @te cold (consider it an H1 environment). The htmal sbucture of Alpdran reflects thls d t f h n c e
in purpose. The lower lml in m d y cargo space, pmvid-
-Nl-
Just mr 50% of the food that the Vlemnftes need corns
from vegetables and prhnitive plantn p w n wit& the1
own dome. An addiUonal5% of thab dlat in actually pro defended than Taw
vlded by plan& natlse tu Corsz6n Though these may be typically bunk here,
primitive and off w no p e t advancement in c h a r y arts.
they contain pro(elne and vitamias that humant can WR. b the serdnr mtlttary nfficsr, but
The hydroponic fadlltles w m n m r lntanded to be th anca or the rank to f r d y m e
only food eource for the Vieroniba. Outalde traders brwt
food tu Corazbn each month and tu& away metals from
Algadres's mima. The reduced bafHc of late has put pres-
sure on the c o b q h g h anergmy s ~ p p l supplemar
t~~
the hydroponic foodstuffs to pruvide e r n e margin of safeh
Exinthg supplies am Batimated to last about f
@vanthe currant number of mouths In feed Th
Vieronitas and Thuldana hope that a relief forc THULDAN SPACE FIGHTER
will have arrived by then, but secratly fear the Dur: 10
the limits of their food aupply may have little tc Maneuver Rating: -1 Acc: 3 Mpp
do with thEb d V d h e Speed 2 AUhour Berthing: 2 crarv
Gabor Ferenc [Hm/Independent/NP), 81
appotntee of mayor Lavy,is in charge of th~ Armament: Plasma cannon
hydroponic bay. Defenses: DeUection inducer
Armor: Moderate neutronite [I dur) d6+1 (LO,d6+1 [HI), d6 @)I
Computer: Marginal computer core
Engines: Microinductor
Power: Microindudor rated for 4 pr-- '-&--- ---*-.*'-+--
Hlbnpnn Data
Acc Range (Mm) %e Damage Actions
Plasma cannon C "/8/1F (e] d6+2w/d8+2w/d6+lr "
7
When in full operation, -.i mines can pry several kilo- a few hundred armed and armored companions. The
tons of raw ore daily from Corazun's surface, but that rate kroath own Ja6n now, and if anyone survived their assault,
has declined to a hundred kllograms or so. Most of the they've never been seen by human eyes since. Render
mining population has been conscripted to patrol the dty, posts scouts as close to Jabn as she dares, and she'd very
shore up its defenses, or join the s!drMshing parties that much like to insert a few Legionnaires into the dome to get
venture into the outlands. a look around.
h theory, that shouldn't be too difficult. When they came
JA~N down to J a b , the kroath paid the city little respect, blasting
numerous holes into the dome's walls. There are rents as
Citizens of Tavira and Algedras looking to relax couldn't do wide as 6 meters that would still offer ways to sneak in, if
better than a visit to Imly Jah. The last of the three set- not for the pakolling b a t h and the spheres that lie just
tlements to be built on Corazbn, Jabn profited from the
outside the dome when not flying in raids or missions.
qerlences of engineers end designers building on the dif-
As a result of those tears in the dome, Jabn's internal
ficult planet. Externally, it's of nearly equal size and s t ~ ~ c -
envimnment differs little from the outside. Temperature,
ture to the other cities. Within this dome, though, was a lux- atmosphere, and heat are those of the surface, and radia-
ury and opulence that couldn't be matched elsewhere on tion leaks in with the air. About the only thinp that still
the planet. Jabn had the best technical crew, the best work in Jahn are the gravity generators; apparently the
machinery, and the most comfortable living space of any of kroath also prefer a lower gravity than 4.4g. One Thuldan
the domes. Unltke Tavira and Algedras, its gravity gener-
plan calls for the destmction of Jabn's gravity generators, if
ators never experienced the occasional failure or malfunc-
only to annoy the kroath. It's an expensive and irreversible
tion. Even its hydroponic facility was rumored to produce dedslon, but a small sacrUhce in the greater scheme.
better-tasting food. For all these reasons, more Vierunites
came to live in Jabn than anywhere else. trn
'Ibday, though, vklthg the planet's jeweled city is the last An estimated 200 kroarn spend most of their time inside
thing that a Viaronite would wish for-at least, not without Jahn, going about tasks that Vieronites might find eerily
r
iccesn points within the dome. Rahm than wal-
ng batches, the lcroath a h w small partlee lo
p&ate the dome and ambush them in tts bat-
tered corridors and buildings. A few b a t h haw
been seen lur!dng in its halls, apparentb WaWne
for the chance to throw theIIME1WS into combat
b a t h leadership has to bs idsntlked by
the human Inhebitan$ who ipg not cartah it
axlsts. In fact, the !math do Ba8wBr to a
Arc R a n g e j h ) Damage AI
[ass cannon 0 5/10/15 LI Ip) d6+2s/d6+lw/d6+3~
,
r
3
-
rmnr: d8+2 0,d6+2 (HU,dE+2 [En)
1a&@&
SYSTEM k G
Although the dvittem of the h a t h dominate the d
local n m servers, the rest uf the Verge is only now alow-
etmut what's h e p p m in V i e r o ~The Galactlc
d out when the sfarm O&y arrived in A@;
the CIB, Star Force, Martnes, and Adminbtretors all
received updates. Much of the rest of the Verge la blithely
WBWBPE of the !math threat; untll mom is known, the
Concord h e n tu a v d the damage that e panic could
CRUSE.
U n k the Thddans, the Galactic Concord has elected to
try a mors manawed and careful come. No ehip stnca the
Sbcnn May has p
[14j rifle 1181; Stealth [13]-meak
t emerged from Viamn, so the Concord
161; Vehicle [13]-space 1161; Movement 1141; Starmna
sent two mu$Into the outer edgn of the syetem to repod
41-endurmce [18l resist padn [16]; Knowledge
their flndlnga when neaher returned, the Concord wan at
2j-language:fioath [lSJ. System Operation [ 121; and fs d l undecided on how
xtics [ 1Z]-infm@y [lfil. Awareness [ 1O]-percpplion
the loss of cnntect with Vieron
fZhLeadership [lo]. has rebed Concord m i h y rsadiness throughout the
re@on. The Thddan Empke, despite 1$ flew prodama-
he !math commander in the Vieron system is a very
t b s , is in a a i d a r atate. N&er alar natlon wants to
innidable opponent, both as the leader of hundreds of write off the Vergers of Vieron, but neithar do they want to
math and personally, when it becomes involved itself. risk mcalnaval WE&in the W t star mem.
ir decades, this kroath has accumulated battle experi-
Ice against humans and other spedes. Battle is its life; it
s no memories m knowledge prior to its genesis and
ining the kroath campaign.
The first step towards defeating the !math might be to
I
!move their commander. However, given its armor,
rage power, and high skill scores, this external should
ise a significant challenge to an entire group of heroes.
le kroath commander bears the SCRE of many battles
f-
1 its green bioarmor; Commodore Pfender and
nturion Model continually fight against its extensive
oowledge of tactics.
A,,cNTL., H
a
,
. ...UST SOMEONE!
The Vimnites cherish the Thuldans as their saviors. ly that the kroath will haw bothered to scavenge the
It's taken for granted that, should they m v e the next inhabitants' personal behngings.
few months and push the kroath out, the Vieronites
would happily become a protectorate of the Emplm. 6 n U l N G n E R e ' 0 THE EASY PART
That does not mean, of course, that they completely As noted in the 'Jabn' section above, getling into the
trust the imperials. They've heard too bad dty isn't impossible for a small party or tacttcal team.
I
things, and history records too many stories of the Indeed, the kroath somtltimes note the entrance of
Legions' aggression. So, even as mayor lsaac Levy snall groups but don't inkfere-ai feast, not until the
b o w to every one of Commodore Render's orders, inhders are safely within the dome.
he keeps his own secrets. Once they're inside, let the heroes sea jwt how
One of these lies within Tavira's hangar bay. impossrble bir mission is.J&s mwh in ruios,
Several months ago, a rundowndrive trader descend- and hdbg even a spa& individual's quarks, let
ed to Cwazbn for repairs. While the ship's crew visit- alone a few tiny control chips, will be like loo@ for
ed Jah, the technical staff want to work disessam- the proverbial needle-without being able to burn the
bling the venerable old tradeship. By May, the work ha@ac!€ mely scales inchlde encounters with kroath
! was half complete, and the trader's components lay ( d c h will in& htding and hghting);
strewn all about. Then came the kroath, and the crew attempting to activate the disabled dty computafto find
in Jabn Is presumed dead. the Caphbl'6 QW&I'S; and POSsihly UShg the captain's
The tech crew services the Thuldan space fighters comm gear to home in on hts body's positirm.
during their r e d a r shift, but Levy also has them There are several ways to resolve the adventure,
w h g after hours on the trader. Now, as the ship depending on just what tasrible machinations yat want
be- to come together, he just needs the control the kroath to orcheshgte in pwr campaign Wha
chips that the ship's captain took with him to J a k !amw what the heroes could d i s m and feel mmred
to do?Anvthingcanhappen: Perhaps one of thatr Mrm-
BACKGROUND her is captured and must be rescued Maybe t h e h
Somehow the heroes stumbled into the Vlaron sys- rlrscmrer OW ofthekrt&hto be the crmvertedshlp ~ a p -
tem,and like everyone else here, they have no way tai4 now inthe service of the Theymuldalsa
to get out Maybe they booked a civiltanpassage and stumble on akeasurekm of discarded human e
Vieron was just a way station to somewhere eke. jewelry, handheld electmnic devices, p d
Their ship was lucky to make it to Coraz6n; most r e e k a n d the control chips. Howsvar you play &
strays don't. Prior to this adventure, they may have tfiough, the flnd escape h J a h should be
worked with the Legionnaires in patroh or defensive rwfing exp&nce for those that survive.
actions; at any rate, Render would quickly recognize Whether or not they return with the u s ,
a group of heroes as another asset she can use. And Commodore Render will be waittng for the heroes.
so would mayor Levy. Her scouts observed their pen&ation of Jab's b e ,
Levy's been reluctant to use any of hw people for and sbe wauts to know why they went in without
this mission-irs obviously risky, for one thing, and telling her. What's worth faking nuh a riak?
few of them possess the skills to have a c h a n c ~He
also doesn't trust the Legionnaires; he fears that with SUPPORTING CAST
a dnveship, they may either make a quick exit from For this adventure, you may ward to fill out the per-
the system or dedde to use the reassembled trader in snnality of mayor Levy, nonprofessional though he is,
dangerous mUitary engagements. As to whaf Levy and determine hia scores in skills such as
. ,' wants it for, who knows?Maybe it's for his own Interacbn-dm or evan Deception Should the drive
escape, sending a message out, or even for use 88 a trader m e inta play, you can use the trader-dass
, relief ship to transport out 50 or so of the youngast or starship template provided in 12: V&cles of
weakest noncombatants. the Playm's Handbonk or one of the plans in chapfar 3:
The heroes' mission ts oMous: Go to !math-held S i p s md Rscl: €lwin the Starships accassmy. Gnce
J a b and search the bodies of the dead for the lost the hemes enter Jaen, you'll probably need tha kroath
trader captain, or the captain's personal quarters on statistics from the h a k chapter in the &en
L
1
When people speak of ”the lost colonies of the Verge,” As for the other sentients of the g*, none of them
no place comes more to mind than ?).thus. Many have a fraal had yet to
Verge systems, with rightful indignation, deeply emb stars that would
resent the patrons that abandoned them. Verge lead yet to evolve into
worlds had, at most, a couple of decades to establish
themselves. After that, they were suddenly left on ancient past of the
their own, abandoned. Perhaps if they had seen it Yellow Skyhas B the subject of legend. Denizens
coming, more Verge worlds would have been pre- of the planet lecture about the
pared. As it was, dozens of settlements withered up In the last five
and died. Verge and many
The others, larger and better-equipped, fell back on biologiets, x e n a c h a d o -
trade within the Verge’s confines. Even if they didn‘t giws zealots have alt come
fully trust one another, to Yellow Sky to find-or
Vergers came to rely on make up-the truth. The
other Vergers. The forgot- Ancientist religious
ten souls of Tychus did not movement is only the
gain such a benefit. Ignored most famous and
even by their closest neigh- numerous of the new-
bors, they had no one to rs
help them. Today, no one
can blame them for their
bitterness or their eager-
* :‘*HISTORY
ness to embrace the greater Orismu Captain Victor
KhbstL led the first
Tychus is a cwl star som exploratory expedition of
s m n op eight bUon yea&
old-a K2 still in the prime of
its stellar life. This orange
then 50 million
.A
I
Retaf enjoya a spectacular popderity emang both
colonists and visitors. lb handle daily rnatt~rs,hlemlst
minieters visit with many f a d e n of the cohny, oftan
spending the ni~ht.They stay touch this way and keep
the faith amon# the hck Retal ale0 fm nurnarnu ad
hoc commltteee that often tak~on a Me of thelr OWR. The
commtttees have only EE much p w r to anforce their rec-
ommendatlona as Red grants them, but the& pubhdy-
! :
: I humans. All in all, some
i j Illumtnatlon each week.
I Game !nfarmatlon on
I '
' I
i I
I
I
!, I
q ~
lank. Even the appltcatlon of these agents has & limited What wtth tha int
I
RftBr s can gaze down th
:liff into the haze of green. wtth a relatively smd popu-
ation, Mount Illumination proper takes up only about 100
square kilOmBtBrS. Most C O ~ O n i s t Backnowledge the dty
to be where farming begins, outside a rectangle 8
etera wide and 12 kilometars long. The &hmI&
d to follow a township modal, spreading out rather
Most of the buildings are one story in
onlsadtyof from
ncss, occupying only a cou- grs
surround themselves with the
the Thisbeltel
ab. after a I
h ~ a the
r center of Mount I u ~ t i o n ' sfirst dozen bdd- Unmne
ngs, the Oramtst lemple *as up some 33
iefght, ma!dng it e d y the tallest b d d l q in th
Alien 5%
Sesheyan 0% T'sa
Mechalus 2% Weren
Rad 2% Other 0%
I
ands needs filtration befm it can bn usmi for drin!dnn. On
he ~OSIUVE slde, t h ~8rst Swimming pooh on Yebw sky,
Hhenwer they WE bdt, won't mad much in the way of a
lialnectarrt
EMPTY SPAC-
m w is, relatively spa-, a cwl star. Becaw of their
:old climas and lack of mlnaral m biological r e m & , the
~
!
other plane$.
me sole other place that receives some at$ntlon is t h ~
.._.. - ___
._ __ __
711ttmNeld a thtn halt nf astarnids Inrated in orblt between
fellow Sky and pale Tun, the thlrd planet Tha admids,
llke Yellow 5kv, have rich deposits of metal. The Theocracy
1 preserves i$ daim to the belt as It daes to tha ~BSI
qst~rn,
of the
but does nothing abmd the occasional prospector
i o h g through the belt looh41 for mtneral richas.
Stoneburner Site Map
I
/
I
...
(1
After only 4 hours of use (continuous or otherwise), the
device becomes nonfunctional until rehuned to this altar for
what is unclear.
+32-10-23-32-11
,, ,.,./ Visit our website at www.tsr.com U.S.521.85 CANW1.95