An era developed in the aftermath of multiple disasters, "Galaxiad Era" refers to the period of time starting around 1900 with the Republic of Regina in the Spinward Marches.
The Republic of Regina. The Republic is an interstellar state of about 100 worlds. Its physical center is at the Celepina system (2913 Spinward Marches), and radiates a subsector or more outward. Nearly a dozen subsectors have worlds owned by the Republic. The capital is Regina (A788976-G NS Ga Hi Pr An Cp), but Rhylanor maintains a strong industrial, technological and military presence. Rhylanor’s TL-16 manufacturing is in many ways focused on defense against the particularly dangerous Star Lane Wilds in adjacent Deneb sector. The military recruits heavily from the Aslan H’Kua clan of Belizo (A894938-C Hi In).
Commerce in the Republic is lively. Humans from both Imperial and Zhodani stock are the dominant sophont. They mix regularly with Vargr, Aslan, Llellewyloly, the occasional Amindii, and other sophonts.
The Remainder of the Marches and Beyond. The rest of the sector is wilderness – as are the neighboring sectors. Gram (A895B56-A), Mora (AA87BC6-A), Pavabid (A66777FA-F), and Yelim (A544A33-A) are Strong Worlds in a sea of savagery.
Yelim, a Darrian world, has maintained its technological base and has a relatively strong defensive fleet. It also issues Letters of Marque to privateers.
The Sword Worlds has lost all cohesion, leaving Gram (A895B56-A) as a lone Strong World. Trin was destroyed hundreds of years ago, and Glisten lost its strength when the Regency disintegrated. Once a hive of regulation, Lunion and its subsector has reverted to a pastoral existence.
Mora pretends to be the “Regency” and an “empire” of four client systems, though it in reality controls none of them. It is referred to by most within the Republic of Regina as The Matriarchy, as its world government has remained intact.
Outside of the Republic and a few other distant empires, systems lacking habitable worlds tend to have tenuous or no populations. If an airless world cannot maintain a local TL of 8+, it rarely has a population. Formerly populated but airless systems are often graveyards, just as they were in the New Era.
A tenuous chain of jump destinations link the Republic with a Vargr state in Khouth subsector of Corridor sector; three Zhodani successor states (one each in Far Frontiers, Zdiedeint, and Itvikiastaf sectors); the Ghabgkheb in Dhuerorrg sector in the Vargr Extents; and Aslan refugee colonies in the Trojan Reach. Uncertain paths run through the Deneb Wilds, across (and sometimes around) the Rift, and into the Imperium of Gushemege sector, a core empire of around 500 worlds. The Republic of Regina is considered a “Halo” community, with the Imperium being the “Central Core.”
Change is constant in the Wilds. Travellers venturing beyond the Republic typically work from outdated records. Physical aspects of worlds often remain unchanged, but starport, population, government and technology information cannot be trusted. Recent data and descriptions sometimes flow in from beyond the borders. Because the sources and accuracy are often less than trustworthy, the Travellers’ Aid Society derisively labels such data as “Aramais Apocrypha", a reference to the dubious records of a long-lost wanderer of charted space.
Once in a while, rumors of a new claimant to the Imperial Throne drift in from Gushemege Sector. They are generally followed by rumors that an Opposition Fleet (from a rival, a corporation, Autonomous Assault Fleets, or various mysterious terrors from the Wilds) has reconstituted itself to depose the arrogant claimant. Rumors of systems utterly devastated by massive force occasionally drift in with daring traders or travelers. Some suggest that a single massive "Autonomous Assault Fleet" is responsible, and is winding its way throughout all of Charted (or Once Charted) Space. Others question whether the Ancients unleashed something which has finally returned to finish the job. Sensible sophonts poo-poo such alarmist ideas. Sentient Autonomous Assault Fleets from the Wilds are a common fiction – parts and ordnance cannot be scavenged and salvaged forever – but some sentient vessels lurk, and others engage in reasonable partnerships with sophonts. AI-based phobias are real.
Largest PC-Relevant structures. The Republic’s naval squadrons maintain rule at the borders, beyond which is general lawlessness or anti-empire fervor. They retain few capital ships, mostly relics for “Showing the Flag.” The largest cruisers are 10,000 tons. Current doctrine depends on numeric superiority rather than giant spines, since there are no neighboring empires which can field significant capital ships.
The Republic’s Scout Service, in contrast, is keen on exploring the wilds. Activity outstrips funding, so skilled troubleshooters are highly valued, if underpaid.
Megacorporations, meanwhile, work for the market, wherever it is. Smaller than their old Imperial versions, they are still staggeringly large. The behavior of each depends on whether or not profit is more important than other corporate virtues. Megacorporations generally operate within states, not out in the wilds They may have the same name and history as a corporation in a distant, growing pocket empire, but have no functional ties.
Modes of Play. Standard Traveller campaigns fit in, from the free-wheeling Free Trader to the mercenary for hire. An emphasis on exploration lives on in the Scout Service. Piracy is dangerous and profitable. Ships attempting to trade with Strong Worlds or distant Empires are nearly guaranteed to encounter raiders.
Larger commerce goes on in the larger interstellar polities, though not elsewhere, and not between them. Jumping across several sectors through the Wilds is simply not profitable without substantial and expensive protection convoys. Such convoys are not yet profitable.
Wild Traders. This is a breed of freelancer that operates as in interface between civilization and the Wilds. This spans the range of honest trade, odd speculation, barefaced treasure-hunting, exploitation, slavery, and feeding off of dead worlds. Typical Wild Trader operations are to jump just outside of civilization, exploit Dieback worlds, and sell the goods inside the Republic. Some merchants make even better money by salvaging the ships left by other Wild Traders who got themselves killed in the wilds. Rogue Merchants are a sub-species of Wild Trader.
Customers of Wild Traders include Strong Worlds (who pay well for parts, maker-tech, and so on), pirates, researchers, museums, and so on. They often prefer to call on the fringes of the “safe” zones, such as Republic of Regina. One of the factors keeping Mora a strong world (apart from its large population) is its regular Wild Trader Auction (held quarterly). Most material is auctioned within a standard quarter (90 Standard Days) from its arrival. However, items of possibly unusual value (or known to be of value to regular bidders, such as the Republic of Regina Navy) are set for auction at a specific date (at least 180 standard days away). Notice is transmitted, and bidders send their proxied agents. Occasionally, an important bidder him-, her- or itself comes personally, though such bidders tend to travel incognito to avoid undue interest that raises the bid.
Psionics in the Republic of Regina. Psionics is an accepted institution in the Republic. Psionic Institutes are licensed and controlled by member worlds. A few worlds prohibit them entirely. However, as a part of the Republic Charter, psionicists are granted "sophont rights" and therefore have legal protections of the Republic on all its member worlds. Note that high-powered psionicists are rare.
Travel Guidelines. The barrier to Jump 7 was broken a century ago, at the re-achievement of TL16, and research is progressing toward Jump 8, with several dozen bulky, hand-tooled prototypes in existence. All major starports in the Republic are capable of at least replacing and installing TL-16 modules, and many can repair them. Antimatter power research has seen major setbacks and disappointments, but study continues.
Due to raider activity, jumping into the wilds is dangerous, especially from the Republic or a Strong World. Armament and charged armor are strongly recommended.
Adapting Careers. Old families remain in control of the land and other holdings which came with Nobility in the old Imperial government. They thus maintain titles, and wield financial and other influence over elected and appointed officials. A Noble cannot rise above Duke (and Dukes should be rare indeed as player characters).
Equipment Guidelines. This milieu is TL16, though the average is TL13. Due to centuries of up-and-down technology levels, this era has the potential for having caches of relic equipment up to and including TL16. Note that relics will always have quality affected negatively by age.
The Republic of Regina. The Republic is an interstellar state of about 100 worlds. Its physical center is at the Celepina system (2913 Spinward Marches), and radiates a subsector or more outward. Nearly a dozen subsectors have worlds owned by the Republic. The capital is Regina (A788976-G NS Ga Hi Pr An Cp), but Rhylanor maintains a strong industrial, technological and military presence. Rhylanor’s TL-16 manufacturing is in many ways focused on defense against the particularly dangerous Star Lane Wilds in adjacent Deneb sector. The military recruits heavily from the Aslan H’Kua clan of Belizo (A894938-C Hi In).
Commerce in the Republic is lively. Humans from both Imperial and Zhodani stock are the dominant sophont. They mix regularly with Vargr, Aslan, Llellewyloly, the occasional Amindii, and other sophonts.
The Remainder of the Marches and Beyond. The rest of the sector is wilderness – as are the neighboring sectors. Gram (A895B56-A), Mora (AA87BC6-A), Pavabid (A66777FA-F), and Yelim (A544A33-A) are Strong Worlds in a sea of savagery.
Yelim, a Darrian world, has maintained its technological base and has a relatively strong defensive fleet. It also issues Letters of Marque to privateers.
The Sword Worlds has lost all cohesion, leaving Gram (A895B56-A) as a lone Strong World. Trin was destroyed hundreds of years ago, and Glisten lost its strength when the Regency disintegrated. Once a hive of regulation, Lunion and its subsector has reverted to a pastoral existence.
Mora pretends to be the “Regency” and an “empire” of four client systems, though it in reality controls none of them. It is referred to by most within the Republic of Regina as The Matriarchy, as its world government has remained intact.
Outside of the Republic and a few other distant empires, systems lacking habitable worlds tend to have tenuous or no populations. If an airless world cannot maintain a local TL of 8+, it rarely has a population. Formerly populated but airless systems are often graveyards, just as they were in the New Era.
A tenuous chain of jump destinations link the Republic with a Vargr state in Khouth subsector of Corridor sector; three Zhodani successor states (one each in Far Frontiers, Zdiedeint, and Itvikiastaf sectors); the Ghabgkheb in Dhuerorrg sector in the Vargr Extents; and Aslan refugee colonies in the Trojan Reach. Uncertain paths run through the Deneb Wilds, across (and sometimes around) the Rift, and into the Imperium of Gushemege sector, a core empire of around 500 worlds. The Republic of Regina is considered a “Halo” community, with the Imperium being the “Central Core.”
Change is constant in the Wilds. Travellers venturing beyond the Republic typically work from outdated records. Physical aspects of worlds often remain unchanged, but starport, population, government and technology information cannot be trusted. Recent data and descriptions sometimes flow in from beyond the borders. Because the sources and accuracy are often less than trustworthy, the Travellers’ Aid Society derisively labels such data as “Aramais Apocrypha", a reference to the dubious records of a long-lost wanderer of charted space.
Once in a while, rumors of a new claimant to the Imperial Throne drift in from Gushemege Sector. They are generally followed by rumors that an Opposition Fleet (from a rival, a corporation, Autonomous Assault Fleets, or various mysterious terrors from the Wilds) has reconstituted itself to depose the arrogant claimant. Rumors of systems utterly devastated by massive force occasionally drift in with daring traders or travelers. Some suggest that a single massive "Autonomous Assault Fleet" is responsible, and is winding its way throughout all of Charted (or Once Charted) Space. Others question whether the Ancients unleashed something which has finally returned to finish the job. Sensible sophonts poo-poo such alarmist ideas. Sentient Autonomous Assault Fleets from the Wilds are a common fiction – parts and ordnance cannot be scavenged and salvaged forever – but some sentient vessels lurk, and others engage in reasonable partnerships with sophonts. AI-based phobias are real.
Largest PC-Relevant structures. The Republic’s naval squadrons maintain rule at the borders, beyond which is general lawlessness or anti-empire fervor. They retain few capital ships, mostly relics for “Showing the Flag.” The largest cruisers are 10,000 tons. Current doctrine depends on numeric superiority rather than giant spines, since there are no neighboring empires which can field significant capital ships.
The Republic’s Scout Service, in contrast, is keen on exploring the wilds. Activity outstrips funding, so skilled troubleshooters are highly valued, if underpaid.
Megacorporations, meanwhile, work for the market, wherever it is. Smaller than their old Imperial versions, they are still staggeringly large. The behavior of each depends on whether or not profit is more important than other corporate virtues. Megacorporations generally operate within states, not out in the wilds They may have the same name and history as a corporation in a distant, growing pocket empire, but have no functional ties.
Modes of Play. Standard Traveller campaigns fit in, from the free-wheeling Free Trader to the mercenary for hire. An emphasis on exploration lives on in the Scout Service. Piracy is dangerous and profitable. Ships attempting to trade with Strong Worlds or distant Empires are nearly guaranteed to encounter raiders.
Larger commerce goes on in the larger interstellar polities, though not elsewhere, and not between them. Jumping across several sectors through the Wilds is simply not profitable without substantial and expensive protection convoys. Such convoys are not yet profitable.
Wild Traders. This is a breed of freelancer that operates as in interface between civilization and the Wilds. This spans the range of honest trade, odd speculation, barefaced treasure-hunting, exploitation, slavery, and feeding off of dead worlds. Typical Wild Trader operations are to jump just outside of civilization, exploit Dieback worlds, and sell the goods inside the Republic. Some merchants make even better money by salvaging the ships left by other Wild Traders who got themselves killed in the wilds. Rogue Merchants are a sub-species of Wild Trader.
Customers of Wild Traders include Strong Worlds (who pay well for parts, maker-tech, and so on), pirates, researchers, museums, and so on. They often prefer to call on the fringes of the “safe” zones, such as Republic of Regina. One of the factors keeping Mora a strong world (apart from its large population) is its regular Wild Trader Auction (held quarterly). Most material is auctioned within a standard quarter (90 Standard Days) from its arrival. However, items of possibly unusual value (or known to be of value to regular bidders, such as the Republic of Regina Navy) are set for auction at a specific date (at least 180 standard days away). Notice is transmitted, and bidders send their proxied agents. Occasionally, an important bidder him-, her- or itself comes personally, though such bidders tend to travel incognito to avoid undue interest that raises the bid.
Psionics in the Republic of Regina. Psionics is an accepted institution in the Republic. Psionic Institutes are licensed and controlled by member worlds. A few worlds prohibit them entirely. However, as a part of the Republic Charter, psionicists are granted "sophont rights" and therefore have legal protections of the Republic on all its member worlds. Note that high-powered psionicists are rare.
Travel Guidelines. The barrier to Jump 7 was broken a century ago, at the re-achievement of TL16, and research is progressing toward Jump 8, with several dozen bulky, hand-tooled prototypes in existence. All major starports in the Republic are capable of at least replacing and installing TL-16 modules, and many can repair them. Antimatter power research has seen major setbacks and disappointments, but study continues.
Due to raider activity, jumping into the wilds is dangerous, especially from the Republic or a Strong World. Armament and charged armor are strongly recommended.
Adapting Careers. Old families remain in control of the land and other holdings which came with Nobility in the old Imperial government. They thus maintain titles, and wield financial and other influence over elected and appointed officials. A Noble cannot rise above Duke (and Dukes should be rare indeed as player characters).
Equipment Guidelines. This milieu is TL16, though the average is TL13. Due to centuries of up-and-down technology levels, this era has the potential for having caches of relic equipment up to and including TL16. Note that relics will always have quality affected negatively by age.
. It requires some ... discussions ... with certain ... stakeholders.
