Parsec - Rulebook.pdf

8/11/2019 Parsec - Rulebook.pdf

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Special thanks: Karl Bluemel, Aric Clark, Marjorie Clayman, Meredith Dreshar, Josh Dunham, Kiery

Franklin, Cara Gee, am !a"ler, Dale !orstman, Aaron !ouse, K# Adam Kunst, Mike McGrath, Dan

$%Connor, Brian Sites, aul &ise ###################################################################################################################'

$(): *(+$D-C+*$( #################################################################################################################################### '

1.0 Parsec in Brief .................................................................................................................................................. 6

1.1 Science-Fiction .............................................................................................................................................. 6

1.2 Roleplaying ............................................................................................................................................... .... 7

1.3 Gae ...................................................................................................................................................... ...... !

1." #$at %oes &e't ........................................................................................................................................... . !

+&$: S)++*(G ############################################################################################################################################## .

2.0 %$apter (ntro)*ction ........................................................................................................................................ +2.1 Setting ............................................................................................................................................................. +

2.2 ,istory ........................................................................................................................................................... 10Socio-Economic Collapse ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ...... 10

Corporate Consolidation ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ........... ..... ..... .. 10

Reconstruction ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... ... 11

Invention ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ..... 12

The Rise of the World Leaue ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ...... ..... ..... ... 12

! "e# !e of E$ploration ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... ..... ...... ..... 1%

Timeline ............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .............. ..... ..... ...... ... 1%

2.3 *t$ority ....................................................................................................................................................... 1World &overnment ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ..... ..... ..... 1'

World &overnment (actions ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ........ ...... .... 1'"ations ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ..... 1)

"ational (actions .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............. ...... ..... ..... ..... 1)

"eo-(eudal Corporations .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ..... ..... 1)

*o#erful Corporations ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... ..... . 1+

Crime S,ndicates .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ...... 1+

Reliion ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..... ..... ...... .. 1

Lanuae ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ..... 1

Insiders and /utsiders ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .......... 20

2." /ec$nology .................................................................................................................................................... 20"euroscience .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... ...... 21

Ener, .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... . 21

(TL ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... . 22

Communication ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... 22

Intellient Soft#are .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............. .. 2%

Space !daptation ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... .... 2%

Rootics ............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ...... ..... ..... .. 2

&enetics ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ...... ..... ..... 2

od, 3odification .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............ ..... 2'

Entertainment ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ...... . 2'

!rcoloies ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ..... ..... ..... .... 2)

Warfare ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .......... ..... .. 2)

2. ife on art$ ................................................................................................................................................... 27Transportation ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... ...... ..... ... 2+

Spra#l .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2

iodiversit, ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... ..... . 2

&arae ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ... 2

/verstimulation ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ..... ...... ..... ... %0


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2.6 Space ............................................................................................................................................................. 30Liftoff ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............. ...... ..... ..... ..... . %0

Space Stations ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... ..... %0

Colonies .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ ..... ...... ..... ..... %1

The Solar S,stem ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... .. %1

The 4niverse ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... .... %

2.7 anger .......................................................................................................................................................... 3"&overnment Securit, (orces .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ..... .. %'

Corporate Securit, (orces .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ...... ... %'

/rani5ed Crime .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... %)

*irates and *rivateers .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ........... ..... ..... ..... . %+

(reedom (ihters and Insurents .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ......... . %+

Surveillance .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ .... %

2.! o*r 4ni5erse ................................................................................................................................................. 3+

+!)): C!AAC+) #################################################################################################################################### /.

3.0 *ic %$aracter %reation ................................................................................................................................ 3+

3.1 Story .............................................................................................................................................................. "0

3.2 %$aracter %reation ......................................................................................................................................... "0irth ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ...... ..... .... 0

Education ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ...... ..... ..... 1

Wor6 .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........ ..... ...... .... 2

*assion ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ... 2

Templates .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... ... %

Sample Characters ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............ ..... ..... ...... ..

Last "ote on Character Creation ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... )

3.3 ttri8*tes ....................................................................................................................................................... "7

3." Sills ...................................................................................................................................................... ........ "!S6ill Levels ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... ...

S6ills and !ttriutes ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... .. S6ill 7escriptions .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... .

4sin S6ills .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... ..... ... )1

Complications and Tr,in !ain ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ...... ...... . )2

3. /raits .............................................................................................................................................................. 623odifications .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ... )%

Speciali5ations .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ )%

E8uipment ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............ . )'

!rmor ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... .. )

Relationships ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ ... )

3.6 Scars ......................................................................................................................................... ..................... 70*h,sical Scars .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... .... +0

*s,choloical Scars ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ... +1

3.7 Stat*s ............................................................................................................................................................. 72

3.! S$ip8*il)ing ................................................................................................................................................... 73&ettin /n a Ship ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... ...... ...... +%

The Cost of Shipoard Life .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..... ..... ...... .... +%

Ship !ttriutes ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... ...... ..... ... +

Ship 7esins ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ..... ..... ... +'

uild ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............. ...... .... +'

Si5e .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... ... +'

Class ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... . +)

Ship Weaponr, ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... . ++

4prade ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............. ...... ..... ..... .. +

Retrofit ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... +Retrofit T,pes ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ +

Ship Components ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... .... 0


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F$-: S0S+)M ############################################################################################################################################ 12

".1 ice in Re5ie9 ............................................................................................................................................... . !2*reparation 7ice ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ..... ..... ..... ..... %

".2 /$e Str*ct*re of %onflict ................................................................................................................................. !3/rient .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... ..

!ct ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ... Resolve .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .....

The Initiative .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... .....

".3 P$ysical %onflict ............................................................................................................................................ !69uic6 Comat .............................................................................................................................................................................. )

!stract Comat ......................................................................................................................................................................... +

3aneuver and !ct ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .............. .... +

Lon 3aneuver .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... .

Lon !ction ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............ ..... ...... .....

Without the Initiative: 3aneuver or !ct ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .............. ..... ..... ...

Close Comat ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ...... ..... .

Raned Comat ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... 1

"ormal Weapon Ranes , T,pe ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... ... 1

E$plosives .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............ ... %!rmor ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... ..

Cover .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ..... .. '

Evasion ........................................................................................................................................................................................ '

(ear ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............ ..... ..... . '

*ain and In;ur, .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... .... )

7eath .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... ..... ..... ..... . +

Recover, .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ...... ..... ..... .. +

Spaceship Comat ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ....

7eterminin Rane ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .......... ..... ...... ...... ..

Shootin .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... 101

Evasion .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .......... ..... .. 101

ou ein ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............. ... 11+

The (irst Time >ou Sit 7o#n .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... . 11

&roup Template .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ... 11

Espionae Team ............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ......... ..... ..... 11*irate or *rivateer Cre# .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... .. 11


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Insurents ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ...... ..... 120

Investiators ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ........ 120

Soldiers?Securit, (orces ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... .... 120

4ran Trie or 3ilitia .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ....... ... 120

Corporate Suits ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... ..... .... 121

Space E$plorers .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ...... ... 121

@ariale: (ish /ut of Water .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ ..... 121

Conflict et#een *Cs ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ..... ..... ..... .. 122

.1 Story ........................................................................................................................................................... 122Character-7rivenA *lot-7rivenA ThematicA or Sando$ &ames ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ...... ... 122

=eroesA @illains or !ntiheroes ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ..... ...... 12%

3icroA 3acro or Cosmic in Scale .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ..... ..... . 12

=eav, Science or Science on the Side ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... ... 12'

.2 )5ersity ..................................................................................................................................................... 12Recover, .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ ..... ...... ..... .. 12'

.3 Setting ....................................................................................................................................... .................. 126Slums and arrens ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. .. 12)

Cit, Core and (rine .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ...... ..... . 12)

!rcoloies ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ........ ...... ...... ..... .. 12)Space Stations ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... .... 12)

Colonies .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... .... 12+

Ships and Shipoard Life ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ...... ..... . 12+

"eo-(eudal Corporations .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ......... ...... .... 12+

Risin World &overnment .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ..... .. 12

Rehailitated "ational &overnments ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .......... ..... . 12

." %olla8oration ............................................................................................................................. .................. 12!Wor6 #ith the *la,ers .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... .... 12

Wor6 #ith the 7irector .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... .... 12

Wor6 With Each /ther .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .......... ..... ..... ... 12

Consensus ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ..... ..... .... 12

. #inging (t ..................................................................................................................................................... 12+"*C 7ice-pools ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ...... 12

Causin *rolems in the CharacterBs Lives .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ... 1%0

&oalsA /staclesA SecretsA *assionsA RelationshipsA Scars ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ ..... ... 1%0

S*6: )S$-C)S and )F))(C) ###############################################################################################################4/7

6.1 &on-Player %$aracters of &ote ..................................................................................................................... 130=ans aeder ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ..... .... 1%0

Insala 3aBharim .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... ..... .... 1%2

Tuc6er 3ac6D Elro, .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ . 1%%

Sere


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Eas, Cit, ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ ...... 1'

Casalanca ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ..... ..... .... 1)

Station '1 ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ....... ..... 1)

The Reliious Schisms ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ..... ...... ..... ..... .. 1+

6." S*8itting :aterial for t$e Setting ........................................................................................... ...... ............. 1"+


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Special thanks:Karl Bluemel, Aric Clark,

Marjorie Clayman, Meredith Dreshar,

osh Dunham, Kiery !ranklin, Cara "ee,

#am $a%ler, Dale $orstman, Aaron

$ouse, K& Adam Kunst, Mike Mc"rath,Dan '(Connor, Brian )ites, #aul *ise

(&/R *ho are e? *hy are e here?

*hat does it mean to e human? *hat are our

social, technolo%ical, co%nitie and s+iritual

limits?

)ome science/iction stories adhere to knon

science more ri%orously than others& ;n #arsec,

e try to stick close to hat e think ill e

+ossile& *e run a risk, o/ course, o/

emarrassin% ourseles y sayin% that

somethin% ha++ens 1-- years /rom no hen

it may ha++en tomorro& 0hat(s hy science

/iction stories like The Time MachineorJourney to the Center of the Earthremain


7/149

@

interestin% no, ecause e can see hat

+eo+le 1-- years a%o thou%ht our orld ould

e like& o dout, e(re no more accurate&

0he only intentional scienti/ic cheat is the

Baeder Drie, hich is a /asterthanli%ht

en%ine that can carry s+aceshi+s across astdistances ery 9uickly& *e intentionally don(t

e+lain eactly ho those ork 7yet8&

'therise, e think hat e talk aout is

+lausile&

;n #arsec, ecause e try to stick to hard

science, the orld e de+ict intentionally

ea%%erates some o/ the thin%s in our on

orld and time that e think are interestin%&

$uman ein%s hae journeyed into s+ace and

are uildin% lon%term homes outside o/ the.arth /or the /irst time& 0he Baeder Dries are

o+enin% u+ e+loration o/ the solar system and

o/ distant stars and +lanets as ell& Back on

.arth, there is a %reat deal o/ con/lict as

human ein%s are asically s+lit into to

%rou+s, the ;nsiders ho hae eerythin% and

the 'utsiders ho hae almost nothin%&

4#2 9oleplayin";

As the descri+tion su%%ests, in #arsec the

+eo+le +layin% the %ame take on roles > you

+ortray characters that you ima%ine and create

and then connect them to%ether in a story you

tell as you %o& Most o/ the +layers hae one

character that they /ocus on, like an actor in a

+lay ho only +ortrays one character, ut one

o/ the +layers needs to e the Director, ho

doesn(t +ortray any s+eci/ic character& 0he

Director %uides the %ame and +ortrays the

characters that you meet oer the course o/ the

story& 0he Director is also in char%e o/decidin% ho to im+lement the rules /airly, so

he must e /amiliar ith ho #arsec orks&

*hen you are a +layer in #arsec, you should

hae to thin%s on your mind at the same

time& 0he /irst is What would my

character do?Enlike in a +lay, there is no

scri+t( in #arsec& Four character can try to do

anythin% you can think u+& 0he ay you

decide hat your character ill try in any

%ien situation is y ima%inin% them as an

inde+endent +erson and ima%inin% hat they

ould do, ho they ould res+ond to a %ien

situation& Fou also need to kee+ in mind hat

your character cando& Four character has

+articular skills and ailities and relationshi+s

that make u+ ho she is, just like any +erson

does > so she isn(t %oin% to e %ood at

eerythin%, and some thin%s ill eim+ossile& Four character is still human

7+roaly8, a/ter all&

0he second thin% /or a role+layer to kee+ in

mind is What would be interesting or fun

in this situation? As e already said, your

character can try anythin%, ut rememer that

you are still orkin% ith the other +layers to

come u+ ith an interestin% story that ill e

/un to +lay out ith the hel+ o/ the Director&

ust ecause your character can try anythin%,hoeer, doesn(t mean the sheshouldtry

hateer comes to mind& '/ all the o+tions

you hae /or your character in a %ien

situation, choose the one that adds to the /un

/or the hole tale heneer you can&

*hen you are the Director in #arsec, your jo

oils don to to asic 9uestions& 0he /irst is

What happens next?0he +layers are

res+onsile /or makin% u+ their on minds,

ut you as the Director are in char%e o/ ho

the orld res+onds to the +layercharacters(

actions& Are they no in troule ith the la?

$ae they made an enemy ho ill come

a/ter them? 'r hae they /ound an ally ho

ill hel+ them in the /uture? *hat are their

o++onents thinkin% and doin% hile they +lan

their net moe?

0he second 9uestion to kee+ in mind as a

Director is How can complicate this in an

interesting way?A story ithout con/lict

and adersity isn(t ery interestin%& Fou don(tant to crush the +layers and /rustrate them all

the time, ut they ill hae more /un i/ their

characters hae to /i%ht to reach their %oals&

;/ this seems like a lot to kee+ track o/, don(t

orry& #arsec has a lot o/ thin%s that hel+ you

/i%ure out hat your character mi%ht do in a

%ien situation, hat kinds o/ choices ould

e most interestin%, hat ha++ens net, and

ho to com+licate the characters( lies in

interestin% ays, and once you are /amiliar


8/149

G

ith the %ame, eerythin% %ets easier, so don(t

orry&

4#/ 9Game;

#arsec isn(t just a ay o/ +layin% the roles o/characters in a story to%ether, it is also a %ame&

;t has rules and systems and ays to resole

9uestions just like any other %ame& ;t is an

interestin% kind o/ %ame ecause it isn(t like

Mono+oly or Hisk here one +erson ins and

eeryone else loses& ;n #arsec 7like all other

role+layin% %ames8, either eeryone ins or

eeryone loses& .eryone ins hen the story

moes /orard, hen eeryone is hain% /un,

and hen your characters deelo+ in

interestin% ays& .eryone loses hen theaction o%s don, hen the story sto+s

makin% sense, or hen only a /e o/ the

+eo+le at the tale are hain% /un&

'ne ay that #arsec is a %ame is that it injects

some randomness into hat you descrie your

characters tryin% to accom+lish& 'therise,

there ould e a lot /eer sur+rises& ust like

in real li/e, sometimes hen you try

somethin%, you /ail > it isn(t alays your /ault,

ut somethin% ha++ens to %et in your ay&

#arsec uses dice to decide hen this ha++ens,

so that there(s alays a chance that the +layers

ill e sur+rised at hat ha++ens&

#arsec is also a %ame ecause it has s+eci/ic

rules, and there are multi+le ays to use these

rules to accom+lish hat you ant& #art o/

#arsec is +layin% ith the %ame itsel/,

mani+ulatin% the rules that you /ind in this

ook to maimie the /un&

;n #arsec, all o/ the rules oil don todecidin% hen to roll dice& Fou roll 6sided

dice and the numers that come u+ on the dice

hel+ tell you hat ha++ens& 0he ay you

decide ho many dice to roll is a comination

o/ /actors > hat your character is %ood at and

the situation that your character is in& 0he

+layers control hat their characters are %ood

at and the Director controls hat the situation

is like& A skilled character in a %ood situation

ill roll more dice than an unskilled character

in un/aorale conditions& Maye the +oor/ello on(t een e alloed to roll any dice&

As e(e said, some thin%s are sim+ly

im+ossile&

*hat numers you look /or on the dice hen

you roll them is also determined y hat your

character is %ood at& *hen you roll the dice,

you count successes, dice that sho

numers that are e9ual to or hi%her than the

tar%et numer& *ith a tar%et numer o/ 6,

only 6(s on the dice count as successes& 0he

more successes rolled, the etter the result /or

the character& Fou ant lots o/ successes=

*ith a tar%et numer o/ 4, 4(s, 5(s and 6(s all

count as successes& )o you can already see that

ith 6 dice, /or eam+le, a tar%et numer o/ 4

is muchetter than a tar%et numer o/ 6 > it

means the di//erence eteen aera%in% 1success and 3 successes= ;n #arsec, all tar%et

numers are eteen 2 and 6, and tar%et

numers are alwaysdetermined y a

character(s )kills 7those are discussed in

Section 3.38&

4#< &hat Comes (e=t

;n !hapter "e discuss ho to create or

ada+t a orld /or your %ame to take +lace in&

0he %rou+ o/ +layers does this to%ether& *hen

you decide here your %ame ill take +lace,

you are also decidin% the kinds o/ +rolems

and o++ortunities that come u+ durin% the

story you are creatin%& ;/ you don(t ant to

create or ada+t your on settin% /or your

story, there is in/ormation on a settin% that

anyone can use /or #arsec, ith its on

history and +resent situation already orked

out /or you& ;/ you do create your on

settin%s, there ill e a chance /or them to e

incor+orated into the o//icial( #arsec orld&;n !hapter #, e discuss ho +layers create

characters& *ith these rules, you can create

any kind o/ +erson ho mi%ht eist in the

#arsec settin% as it is descried, or ada+t a

character to your on settin% i/ that is hat

you +re/er& Character creation accounts /or

eerythin% aout your character u+ to the +oint

here your +articular story e%ins& Iike the

settin% elements you create, your characters

also hae a chance to ecome +art o/ the

#arsec canon(&&


9/149

J

;n !hapter $, e e+lain the rules that %uide

a %ame o/ #arsec& 0his includes the rules /or

resolin% con/licts characters ill %et

themseles into, hether they are con/licts

oer social standin%, in/ormation, or li/eand

death stru%%les& 0here is also a section /orattles eteen shi+s in s+ace hether they

are small one+erson /i%hters or lar%er military

essels& All o/ these rules are desi%ned to

resole these con/licts 9uickly so that the

%ame(s action remains /ast and ecitin%& 0he

cha+ter also e+lains ho characters chan%e

and im+roe oer time&

!hapter %contains adice /or +lay& 0his is the

cha+ter here e +ut more in/ormation that

you(ll ant to hae to run a #arsec %ame ithyour /riends, ith lots o/ ti+s and +ointers that

ill make your %ame run more smoothly and

your stories een etter&

!hapter &is dedicated to resources /or

#arsec, includin% more detailed in/ormation

on the #arsec settin% hich can e ada+ted as

you see /it /or your on settin%& 0hese

include names and in/ormation on +oer/ul

indiiduals, cor+orations, and %oernment

a%encies, all o/ hich can e thron in to an

adenture /or additional une+ected

com+lications. This chapter also lets you

know how the setting elements and characters

you create can become part of the official

published setting&

;/ you miss somethin% in these cha+ters, don(t

orry& 0here is a cha+ter summary at the end

o/ each that %oes oer the main +oints o/ each

section, remindin% you here to /ind the

im+ortant in/ormation /rom that cha+ter&

/# S//(&G

)idear All o/ this is intended /or a %rou+

antin% to run a lon%term #arsec %ame& ;/

you are only intendin% to run a short %ame or

een a oneshot, ski+ to the Cha+ter )ummary

at the end o/ this cha+ter /or an oerie o/

hat you need to do to de/ine your settin% and

situation, and then moe on to character

creation&

2#7 Chapter *ntroduction

;n this cha+ter, e talk aout creatin% a settin%

and a situation /or your #arsec %ame& Fou(ll

also learn aout the history o/ the de/ault

settin% and some o/ the major in/luences on it&*e then talk aout the kinds o/ technolo%y

you mi%ht see in a #arsec %ame, and then

some more s+eci/ics aout the +laces your

characters mi%ht see durin% the course o/ your

story& !inally, there are some eam+les o/

s+eci/ic threats characters mi%ht /ace in a

#arsec %ame to hel+ s+ark ideas /or your

adentures&

2#4 Settin"

Be/ore you e%in creatin% characters /or a

#arsec %ame, you need to kno some thin%s

aout the orld they inhait& ;n #arsec a

settin% is +roided, hich ill e e+anded

u+on in /uture su++lements, ut you can

alays use the %ame system to uild your on

settin%, re/lectin% your ersion o/ .arth(s

/uture&

)ettin% includes a %reat deal > not only the

+resent( o/ the %ame, ut also the +ast& ;t

includes all o/ the in/luences that may a//ectthe characters, as ell as the orld they

inhait& $o you uild u+ your settin% ill

determine hat kinds o/ themes your %ame

inoles, as ell as here your characters can

e+lore durin% the course o/ the %ame&

0he est ay to uild u+ your settin% is to

dele into its +ast > hich is essentially

eerythin% im+ortant that ha++ened /rom the

+resent( in hich this %ame is ein% ritten

7the start o/ the 21stcentury8, to the +resent(o/ the %ameorld oer 2-- years later& '/

course, you don(t hae to s+ell eerythin% out,

ut hat you do choose to mention hel+s

sha+e the settin%& !or eam+le, i/ you mention

a lot aout major ars in your settin%(s

history, you are +roaly settin% u+ a %ame

that ill inole a lot o/ comat, or ill e the

story o/ soldiers /i%htin% in /uture military

skirmishes& ;/, on the other hand, you descrie

a history o/ con/licts eteen arious +olitical

and economic +oers, each maneuerin%ehind the thrones and +odiums to seie


10/149

1-

in/luence and retain it, you are settin% u+ a

%ame that ill +roaly inole a lot o/

intri%ue&

2#2 !istory

0o make thin%s a little easier, e(ll +roide

the tem+late that is ein% used to deelo+ the

de/ault #arsec settin%& 0here are si sta%es

uildin% u+ to the %ame(s +resent( )ocio

.conomic Colla+se, Cor+orate Consolidation,

Heconstruction, ;nention, 0he *orld Iea%ue,

and the e A%e o/ .+loration& 0hese sta%es

descrie major times o/ chan%e or turnin%

+oints in the #arsec settin%: /eel /ree to use

them or use your on& !olloin% is a more

detailed treatment o/ each sta%e o/deelo+ment& !eel /ree to use it all and sae

yoursel/ some ork, or modi/y it in any 7and

eery8 ay to make your %ame s+eci/ic to

your tastes&As always do whate!er is needed

to make sure e!eryone has fun.

Socio-conoic %ollapse

"#o one thought it could happen. $n the end it was a

marriage made in %ell a conspiracy of Jewish and

Muslim terrorists to bring down western ci!ili&ation

and bring about the end of the world. #o one thought itcould happen not until the nuke went off somewhere

under Saudi Arabia. Eighty percent of the world's

remaining oil supply burned away in seconds. #o

nation no one escaped the after(effects. )!ernight

trillions of dollars !apori&ed. *ithin weeks and months

the weather changed as the smoke that had once been

the world's fuel enclosed the world in black clouds for

days without end. *ithout fuel no one could har!est

crops and with little sun there wasn't enough food to

go around.

Ci!ili&ation pro!ed a thin !eneer. Emergency

go!ernments sei&ed power e!erywhere. $t was no longer

the age of democracies but a return to the rule of the

+ungle(( he who has the most guns makes the rules and

e!eryone has guns. The terrorists got what they wanted

a world collapse bigger than anything in written

history. $ hope they're happy. $'d wish they'd go rot in

%ell, instead they brought %ell to e!eryone else.-((

Taralla rancis /0eflections on the Collapse1 )ne

*oman's 2iary'

#arsec +resumes a %loal economic colla+se

simultaneously ith a orld enironmental

crisis eyond the means o/ any %oernment to

co+e ith the tin dilemmas& ;neitaly, henresources %ro scarce, +eo+le 7and

%oernments8 +anic, and /i%htin% reaks out

/or any numer o/ reasons


11/149

11

cor+oration& )chools ere uilt, ut they ere

technical schools aimed at trainin% children to

ork in the ur%eonin% economy&

As time marched on, cor+orate +oers uilt

+riate security /orces, armies in all ut name,

hich they em+loyed a%ainst each other and in

de/ense o/ their resource and +roduction

mono+olies& )loly, a ne kind o/ order %re

in the orld& ;/ anythin% remained o/ national

and international %oernments, it as esti%ial

only& 0hey ecame, /or a time, a /ootnote o/

the ne histories ein% com+osed&

"The elimination of go!ernments will pro!e to be a

godsend for e!eryone. o!ernments are nothing more

than leeches on economies and prosperity ta4ing

e!eryone to pro!ide benefits that would be better

pro!ided by corporations with a !ested interest in

success at minimal cost. The in!isible hand of

economics work and should continue to do so. $t is in

the best interests of our corporation to continue

rehabilitation of the local agriculture and a5uaculture

as well as the recycling of resources to minimi&e the

necessity of dependence on other corporations

especially those seeking a competiti!e ad!antage within

the 66CC sphere of influence.- ((*hite 7aper

6acamas 6iability(0eco!ery and Credit Corporation

Reconstr*ction

;n/rastructure as reuilt and im+roed u+on&

Cor+orations claimed territories that had een

aandoned or +urchased the land in shady

deals no di//erent than .uro+eans uyin%

Ion% ;sland hundreds o/ years earlier /rom the

;ndians& 0hey de/ended their interests a%ainst

all comers creatin% a tenuous alance o/

+oer, o/ten marred y short, iolent con/licts

and constant industrial es+iona%e and

saota%e&

0he system that emer%ed as knon as eo!eudalism& At the to+, oards o/ directors o/

arious cor+orations made the i% decisions&

Beneath them ere +ro%ressiely diminishin%

leels o/ authority /unctionin% like medieal

noility > serin% the Kin% as needed, ut ith

almost total sayso oer their on daytoday

a//airs& 0hese mana%ers each mana%ed some

as+ect o/ a cor+oration(s o+erations, and each

o/ them, in turn, em+loyed their on +eo+le&

.+ansion occurred throu%h /ranchisin% as

ne markets and ne o++ortunities o+ened

7hether or%anically or throu%h military

action8&

.ach cor+oration(s territory ore the distinct

marks o/ that cor+oration and ho it did

usiness, as ell as it(s on distinct style o/

+erasie randin%& ;n/ormation as

encry+ted di//erently in each, and each had its

on +riate armies& .ach com+any /unctioned

like it(s on totalitarian state, e+andin% y

ay o/ /ranchise into ne territories&

.missaries ould e sent to ne%otiate

economic relations, and hen talks /ailed,

small ars 7the rush/ire ars o/ a +reious

century8 o/ten roke out eteen cor+orations

yin% /or the same resource or market&

All the hile, ne technolo%ies eredeelo+ed as human culture reinented itsel/&

0he most si%ni/icant deelo+ment durin%

Heconstruction as the inention o/ /usion

+oer and the /irst e//orts at lar%escale

s+ace/li%ht and e+loration& !usion technolo%y

+roided aundant ener%y, sur+assin% hat

as aailale /rom /ossil /uels at any time in

history: it as the /irst time there as more

+oer aailale than needed y man and his

industries& 0he limitin% /actor as that the rare

elements re9uired /or /usion technolo%y

eren(t aailale in lar%e 9uantities on .arth:

instead, they ere aailale in 9uantity only in

+laces like the sur/ace o/ Mars or the

atmos+here o/ the %as %iants u+iter and

)aturn& !usion +oer +ro+elled humanity out

into s+ace once a%ain, and ne colonies ere

estalished to %ather and re/ine these rare

elements necessary /or adanced technolo%ies&

)olar technolo%y deelo+ed to re+lace the

colla+se o/ the /ossil /uel economy andau%ments /usion reactors, hich remain

di//icult to uild and maintain&

"8ou know $ don't buy that the corporations are in

control. $'!e done some research on 9: thand ; *hy is there no information about

membership in the ?a!arian $llumination> 8ou knowwhy> ?ecause they don't want you to know.-((Crunk

2obson Economic Millennialist


12/149


13/149

13

Meanhile, millions /locked to the ne *I,

hatin% the neo/eudalism o/ unchallen%ed

cor+orate control& ational %oernments

9uickly rote ne constitutions or reised old

ones, all anious to send dele%ates to the

*I, ho+in% to attract the su++ort o/dissenters& 0hou%h many ho chan%ed

alle%iance ere soldiers, +ilots, scientists and

others ith critical skills, /or the most +art,

hoeer, the conerts( to the *I(s cause

ere eeryday men and omen, the

im+oerished, +eo+le least content ith the

ay thin%s are, ho+in% that someho the

*I ould make their lies etter&

0he con/lict ith the cor+orations as rutal

and escalated 9uickly& ;t e%an ith neo/eudal ictories on eery /ront& 0he

determinin% /actor, hoeer, as the ori%inal

Baeder Drie, /olloed y the construction o/

more, each im+roin% the ori%inal desi%n and

%iin% the *I a %reat adanta%e in the s+ace

surroundin% .arth, its /orces ale to moe

9uickly /rom one location and rea++ear

millions o/ kilometers aay instantly& 0he

*I ruled outer s+ace, and just as control o/

the air had on the %reat ar o/ .arth in the

middle o/ the 2-th

century, so no did controlo/ s+ace +roide the asis /or ictory&

0he *I ecame the central %oernment on

.arth ith indiidual nations as its

suordinate memers& Cor+orations had to

deal ith a re%ulatory system ith teeth, and

anyone ho re9uired /aster than li%ht trael

has had to +ay the *I to do so eer since&

As more usiness re9uired !0I trael and

commerce e+anded, so, too, did the *orld

Iea%ue o/ ations( reenue& )loly, 9uietly,the *I has %ron in +oer since, its leaders

aitin% /or the moment to assert total control

oer the cor+orations, aitin% /or the moment

hen the cor+orations are so indeted to the

*I that they cannot +ut u+ a /i%ht&

&e9 ge of 'ploration

$o Baeder Dries /unction remains a ell

ke+t secret, in/ormation that any cor+oration

ould ha++ily kill to +ossess& #rotectin% this

secret ruthlessly is the +rimary /ocus o/ the*I(s security and military /orces at all

times& Attem+ts hae een made to reerse

en%ineer and re+licate Baeder(s ork, ut they

hae inarialy /ailed& $e as an oscure

researcher and +hysicist ith /e academic

+ulications > and those that he +ulished

hae mysteriously disa++eared, alon% ith$ans Baeder himsel/&

;n the meantime, !0I trael has o+ened u+ the

stars to humanity& 0he main limitation remains

the aailaility o/ ener%y& .en thou%h it is

+ossile /or a Baeder Drie to trael eteen

the stars, this trael re9uires an etraordinary

amount o/ ener%y& Because o/ the /uelener%y

costs, tri+s ith Baeder Dries are alays

care/ully +lanned&

'ne source o/ alance eteen the *I andcor+orate interests is that the ener%y

in/rastructure necessary /or !0I trael is

almost entirely run y cor+orate mono+oly&

0his maintains a tense alance eteen the

hi%h +rice that cor+orations +ay to trael /aster

than li%ht and the hi%h +rice that the *I

+ays /or ener%y& ;t is a alance o/ +oer that

no one likes, ut no one is illin% to

jeo+ardie&

/ieline

Fear 'ne is hen the *orld Iea%ue o/

ations took oer the No//icialN .arth calendar

and restarted it ith the /oundin% o/ their on

or%aniation retroactiely& Because o/ this

chan%e, they ado+ted a ay o/ delineatin%

years y usin% +ositie or ne%atie inte%ers

7rather than BC.C., the archaic /orm8&

'pprox( -)**0his is the year usually

associated ith the Colla+se& $istorians ho

ork on reconstructin% the history o/ theeents knon as the Colla+se trace this date to

the second century o/ the second millennium

in hat as knon as the Common .ra&

Di%ital records /rom e/ore this time are

almost entirely unreadale and most +rinted

records ere destroyed in massie uran

ild/ires, /ireomin%s, lootin% and nuclear

detonations&

'pprox( -+* 0he eo!eudal .ra e%ins, on

o//icial *I calendars, ith the /ormation o/


14/149

14

hat ill ecome )ila .ner%y, the /irst, and

still the lar%est, su+ercor+oration&

-,#0he A/rican Enion !ree )tate Council is

/ormed, resultin% in a numer o/ small ars on

the continent as .uro+ean, Asian and

American interests are iolently e+elled&

-&)0he AE!)CNs 0eleFear #lan ends

ith the landin% o/ its /irst astronauts on the

Moon&

-$#!irst o//orld terrorist attack > Marist

etremists smu%%le e+losies onto a Iunar

module hich lands on the MoonNs sur/ace

near a colony and they detonate it, killin%

hundreds and destroyin% illions o/ dollars o/

inestment&

-") - -)+!irst Martian Ciil *ar e%ins

eteen rial iceminin% com+anies and

s+reads to include the majority o/ colonies

there& 0he /oundin% o/ the Mars Han%ers

occurs in +art y or%aniin% i%ilante %rou+s

/ormed durin% this con/lict&

ear .ero0he eo!eudal .ra ends ith the

decision o/ the *I to /ully /und the uildin%

and testin% o/ the /irst Baeder Drie, usin%

almost all o/ the aailale ca+ital o/ allmemernations&

ear /ne0he *orld Iea%ue o/ ations is

/ounded out o/ the recka%e o/ the old Enited

ations as a counter+oint /or +riate economic

+oers and o//icially e%ins makin% le%al

claims o/ authority oer and a%ainst the eo

!eudal cor+orations& 0he A/rican Enion !ree

)tate Council re/uses to join the *I, ut

maintains di+lomatic relations ith it and

collaorates on humanitarian initiaties&

'therise, /or%otten national authorities /lockto the *I /rom hat ere orth and )outh

America, .uro+e and .ast Asia&

0";nau%ural jum+ o/ the Baeder !0I Drie

/rom outside .arthNs %raity ell to outside

)aturnNs %raity ell and ack& .stimates say

that enou%h ener%y as used to +oer eery

major city on .arth /or a month and des+ite

the distance o/ the e%innin% and end+oint

7/arther out than the Moon8, the /lash as

isile in the cloudless ni%ht sky&

0# - 0)"0he !irst eo!eudal *ar eteen

the *orld Iea%ue o/ ations and a coalition

o/ cor+orate mono+olies, ends in O12 ith the

ictory o/ the *I, the si%nin% o/ multi+le

treaties reco%niin% *I authority in matters

o/ manu/acture and commerce, and thee%innin% o/ a cold ar&

0%0he $uman Bill o/ Hi%hts is +assed

throu%h the *orld Iea%ue o/ ations

Assemly, includin% in its list a +roision

a%ainst the onershi+ o/ a human ein%&

0)#A numer o/ small, rutal con/licts reak

out as the *I seeks to en/orce its Bill o/

Hi%hts, lieratin% orker/arms in the

Asteroid Belt and massie slae +lantations in

)outheast Asia& Around the orld, onershi+clauses si%ned y em+loyees o/ a thousand

cor+orations are suddenly oid&

0)%Declassi/ied documents cite this as the

/irst date that a Baeder shi+ as sent to

colonie an .arthlike orld circlin% a distant

star > renamed /rom $D 412@G to e $o+e&

o documents mentionin% any returnjum+s

hae een declassi/ied&

0"#)er%e Piano and his cre steal a

Baeder Drie shi+ and jum+ out o/ the solarsystem, +resumaly to colonie an .arthlike

orld they call .den& Piano remains the

*INs Most *anted $uman Bein%&

0"1;n#@7rime !s. the *orld 6eague of

#ations, an ar%ument /or A; ciil ri%hts is

+resented y the A; itsel/& 0he case is locked

u+ inde/initely in the a++eal +rocess&

0##0he De/ense Hi%hts Act is +assed,

limitin% cor+orate armies in an attem+t to

+reent escalation toard another solarsystem ar& )ila .ner%y, ith the lar%est

+riate de/enses /orce o/ any cor+oration,

/i%hts the la in court and re+ortedly

continues its recruitment and ea+ons

deelo+ment in secret& 'ther cor+orations

/ollo suit, and *I clandestine serices are

stretched thin tryin% to kee+ track&

'pprox( 0%*A %ood startin% year /or a #arsec

%ame&


15/149

15

2#/ Authority

)omeone is alays in char%e& 0here is alays

a i%%er /ish& *ithin #arsec, there are

+articular cate%ories that these +oer+layers

/all into& *hen orkin% on the s+eci/ics o/your %ame(s settin% and situation, it is

orthhile to %ie some thou%ht to ho each

o/ these cate%ories o/ authority interact ith

each other and ho they ill a//ect the +layer

character(s lies& !or more on +oer/ul

or%aniations and in/luential +eo+le in the

settin%, see sections 6&2 and 6&3&

#orl) Go5ernent

0he *I is a study in contradictions& 'n the

one hand, it is the sole +ro+rietor o/ the mostadanced technolo%y eer to e deelo+ed > a

drie that can +ro+el a shi+ /aster than the

s+eed o/ li%ht& 'n the other, it is de+endent on

cor+orate +roduction and technolo%y /or

almost eerythin% it re9uires on a daytoday

asis& )ecurity /orces orkin% /or the *I

o/ten hae archaic ea+onry sala%ed /rom

national stock+iles, ut its elite /orces are

armed ith the est e9ui+ment aailale, all

+aid /or /rom reenues that the Baeder Dries

rin% in&

.en as it tries to +roe its le%itimacy, the

*I continues to attract idealists and

o++ortunistic ideolo%ues alike, all tryin% to use

the *I to /urther their on %oals& 0errorists,

+olitical +hiloso+hers, /reedom /i%hters,

humanitarians and casto//s /rom the %reat

cor+orations all /ind a home there& 0he *I

is a constant clash o/ incredily dierse ends

the *I(s illin%ness to use itsstandin% army 7made u+ o/ soldiers /rom

memer nations8 in con/licts eteen

com+liant and noncom+liant cor+orations&

Cor+orations ere /aced ith to distinct

choices& )ome a%reed, concedin% +oer to the

*I in return /or the loer /ees and added

+rotection to alance thin%s out, hile others

rejected the *I(s authority, relyin% on their

on cor+orate +oer /or their +rotection,

toleratin% the hi%her /ees and other e+enses,ho+in% that y remainin% /ree(, the lack o/

re%ulations and restrictions ould +ay o// in

the lon% run&

;n the lies o/ +layercharacters, the *I ill

+rimarily come into a story i/ they trael

ithin 7or eyond8 the solar system& 0he

*orld Iea%ue o/ ations is ecomin% the one

centralied /ocal +oint /or +olitical, social and

economic +oer, and that has an ineitale

e//ect on characters& ;t is /illed ith dissention

and con/lict, ut it has claimed to re+resent all

o/ the +olitical +oers o/ .arth& *hether

colonies ithin the system ill declare

inde+endence /rom their cor+orate oners is

yet to e seen&

#orl) Go5ernent Factions

*ithin the s+heres o/ %oernment and ithin

the *I itsel/, there are three distinct major

/actions

$nter!entionists

0hey eliee the *I has the ri%ht and duty

to inole itsel/ in inter+lanetary and, i/

necessary, interstellar, a//airs& 0hey eliee in

usin% the +oer o/ the *I, increasin% its

in/luence at eery o++ortunity, and o+enly

contestin% the authority and +oer o/ the

cor+orations, criminal or%aniations, and any

other %rou+ that could e a +otential threat to

the *orld Iea%ue& Hadical interentionists

/aor usur+in% the +oer and ri%hts o/memer states /or the sake o/ the hole&


16/149

16

7rotectionists

#rotectionists eliee memer nations( ri%hts

are sacrosanct, so that memershi+ in the

*I ill %uarantee the surial o/ memer

nations a%ainst outside a%%ressors&

#rotectionists alue security aoe all else and

neer com+romise on issues that they /eel %o

a%ainst the *I(s security interests&

0e!olutionaries

0hese radicals and insurrectionists see the

*I as an o++ortunity to oerturn the +oer

structures that hae dominated li/e on .arth

since medieal times& 0hey tend to e a loose

amal%amation o/ Ie/tists and eo!ascists,

includin% %enuine /reedom/i%hters as ell as

etremists ho +re/er anarchy to any /orm o/

centralied %oernment&

;n most circumstances, the #rotectionists

re+resent the majority ie and /e ho hold

that ie+oint ould eer e considered

radicals& Durin% crises, the ;nterentionist

ie+oint is heard more loudly, %ien their

status as a ocal minority hile the

reolutionaries are le/t on the /rin%es o/ the

or%aniation, aay /rom +oer, thou%h this is

makin% the Heolutionary s+here more radicalith time&

&ations

Ender the ae%is o/ the *I, a numer o/

national %oernments hae reasserted their

authority, reestalishin% old national

oundaries hich o/ten cut across neer

cor+orate territorial oundaries& ational

%oernments, %enerally s+eakin%, sim+ly

reca+itulate the con/licts o/ the *I on asomehat smaller scale& 0here is also ide

ariation /rom nation to nation, includin%

more than just lan%ua%e and some cultural

traits hich hae +ersisted oer time&

Many o/ the +oer/ul cor+orations started o//

as %oernment mono+olies or stateoned

industries, and in some cases the reconstituted

national %oernments are makin% le%al claims

/or control o/ some o/ these cor+orations&

eedless to say, this is a source o/ endless

heated con/lict&

&ational Factions

#o!iy(So!iet

0his is an im+roed mani/estation o/ the

tentiethcentury )oiet system, includin%

+arts o/ China, much o/ hat ere once#akistan, A/%hanistan, and ;ran, some o/ the

old )oiet Enion and .uro+e, and a /e allied

Iatin American states& 0he oiy)oiet is

ound to%ether economically and +olitically

rather than y %eo%ra+hy, makin% u+ /or the

%eo%ra+hical o+enness ith re+ressie +olitics

and in/ormationcontrol& 0hou%h a su++orter

o/ the *I, the oiy)oiet nations resist

increased *I in/luence in their home

territories, makin% the oiy)oiet a

com+etitor ith the *I in addition to thecor+orations& 0he oiy)oiet considers

itsel/ a +eer to the lar%est cor+orations, since

usinesses under its control are theoretically

oned y the state& ;n reality, the ) must

%rant cor+orations a %reat deal o/ lenience, and

it is +la%ued y det and /re9uent shorta%es&

TheAfrican nion ree State Council

0his or%aniation o/ A/rican nations turned to

radical isolationism in the a/termath o/ the

Colla+se& *hile relatiely im+oerished

com+ared to many other re%ions o/ the orld,

1-- years o/ A/rican nations and ethnic %rou+s

or%aniin% themseles ithout outside

inter/erence has, rather sur+risin%ly, led to an

era o/ +eace and in some +laces %enuine

+ros+erity& A/rica is the lar%est re+ository o/

natural resources remainin% on .arth, and the

ene/its o/ that natural ealth hae een

enjoyed y the AE!)C memer states&

Because o/ this ealth, the Council deelo+edand maintains a +oer/ul military in order to

ard o// inter/erence /rom the *I, the ),

cor+orate interests and other %rou+s itter at

the loss o/ access to chea+ laor and materials&

;n some cases, these con/licts hae led to

outri%ht ar/are ith the AE!)C or%aniin%

%uerilla cam+ai%ns until the outsiders lose the

ill 7and /inancin%8 to continue and ithdre&

&eo-Fe*)al %orporations

0he socioeconomic colla+se descried aoeis license /or any %ien %rou+ o/ +layers to


17/149

1@

come u+ ith ne cor+orate names, or to use

ones they are /amiliar ith i/ they +re/er& ;n

the #arsec milieu, most o/ the old cor+orations

o/ the early 21st

century ere i+ed out,

ankru+ted, or ou%ht out thou%h this means

that some eistin% cor+orate names ill still

look /amiliar&

Cor+orations are +rimarily uilt around a

horiontal mono+oly or ertical inte%ration&

Mono+olies are ell knon hile com+anies

ith ertical inte%ration on all as+ects o/

+roduction 7ran%in% /rom onershi+ o/ minin%

ri%hts all the ay to onin% the store /ronts

that sell to consumers8& ot all cor+orations

are hu%e& )maller cor+orations +er/orm

s+ecialied tasks /or other /irms, utiliin% thats+ecialiation 7as ell as +ayin% /inancial

triute( to lar%er cor+orations8 to maintain

their inde+endence& Most o/ the cor+orations

that si%ned the *I charter are smaller ones,

seein% the charter as /urther +rotection o/ their

ri%hts and +ro+erty&

*hen uildin% the hierarchy /or a s+eci/ic

cor+oration, kee+ /eudalism in mind& ;nstead

o/ oaths o/ /ealty, there are contractual

oli%ations& ;nstead o/ tithes and taes, thereare /ranchise and licensin% /ees& Cor+orations

are insular, and relationshi+s eteen them are

care/ully re%ulated to aoid the lar%escale

con/licts hich hae scarred the +ast&

Cor+orate ars, in style, resemle the ars o/

Iouis Q; and Marlorou%h more than they

do the total ar style o/ the American Ciil

*ar or the orld ars o/ the 2-th

century&

Po9erf*l %orporations

Syl!a Energy70radin% as )."F8

)."F is one o/ the most +oer/ul

or%aniations anyhere in the settin%&

!ounded y the )yla /amily o/ +reColla+se

Brail, ho many %ossi+ers su%%est has a

history similar to that o/ the Bor%ias o/

medieal ;taly, it achieed early +oer hen

it ou%ht the assets o/ the colla+sed Braillian

%oernment& )yla .ner%y has its hands in

ener%y +roduction and distriution

eeryhere, and as it %re, )."F eoled

into a ureaucratic ehemoth, een thou%h it is

still run y the same /amily hich has

controlled the cor+oration /or more than a

century&

0he )ylas are ruthless, and the in/i%htin% o/

the /amily is le%endary, as ruthless as their

treatment o/ outsiders ishin% to dis+lace

them& Cor+orate mana%ement is handled in

similar /ashion, /osterin% outri%ht com+etition

eteen em+loyees those ho are stron%est

rise to the to+ hile those on the ottom are

/or%otten&

7rotean enetics70radin% as #H'"8

#H'" is at the cuttin% ed%e o/ %enetic

en%ineerin% and mani+ulation and is a major

/undin% source /or smaller com+anies

en%a%in% in iolo%ical e+erimentation& ;ts

%enesis as as an amal%amation o/ arious

cor+orate entities ou%ht out and consolidated

in the years a/ter the Colla+se& )ince then,

#H'" has een at the /ore/ront o/ %enetics, a

+osition they maintain throu%h a loose

inter+retation o/ hat they le%ally can and

cannot do& #rotean "enetics, in a landmark

le%al case 7decided in a /or+ro/it court o/

ne%otiation in the acuum o/ national or

international courts a

numer o/ human ein%s, in /act& 0he decision

stated that the +eo+le sold themseles o/ their

on accord, so that the de/endant has no need

to justi/y their actions here in a usiness

aritration courtroom&

"E!er hear of Joseph Mengele> %e's the guy who

singlehandedly wiped out a million Jews for the #a&is.

%e's one of the most e!il !ile things to e!er walk the

planet. $f aliens e4ist and use him as e!idence ofhumanity's !alue we are worthless. So let's be clear

about this because this isn't hyperbole1 Mengele had a

better set of ethics than any of these F2E6ETE2 )0

70)A#$T8F.-((2arrell )range commenting on the

!erdict in the 7rotean Agenda case=his daughter sold

herself for ;


18/149

1G

controls, there is a cons+icuous %roin%

demand /or lack market %oods and serices&

Crime syndicates hae held a stran%e +osition

in the +ast, o+eratin% on market +rinci+les o/

su++ly and demand, just in ille%al %oods and

serices& Cor+orations hae tolerated this tosome de%ree, and hae een made use o/

syndicates /or their on +ur+oses, ut they do

not a++reciate any encroachment on their

control&

0he emer%ence o/ the *I reini%orated the

%reat crime syndicates as ell as creatin% ne

ones hich /illed ne market niches& 0he

*I is less tolerant than cor+orations ere in

the +ast, and this has led to /re9uent con/licts

eteen the to kinds o/ authority,%oernmental and illicit, een resultin% in

im+licit /ree/ire ones to restrict the ille%al

trans+ort o/ %oods&

;n contrast to the mono+olies that are at the

heart o/ the cor+orations, crime syndicates

tend to e /ar less centralied& Authority is

maintained throu%h iolence intimidation and

lackmail > there is a %reat deal o/ in/ormation

that they hae hich could com+romise

+oer/ul +eo+le i/ reealed&

Behind the eeryday ille%al actiities o/ the

crime syndicates, rumors eist that the arious

or%aniations actually hae a central

leadershi+ that oersees criminal actiity

orldide > toard hat end, no one

knosLor at least no one(s talkin%& ;n

addition, it is a +oorlyke+t secret that the

*I is illin% to oerlook criminal actiity

hich circuments the cor+orations&

Chen 2o Chen

$e is a /orce o/ nature& $e is /eared, reered,

and hated, ut neer i%nored& 0here is

s+eculation that he( is actually a numer o/

+eo+le rather than just a sin%le man& $o else

could he e eeryhere, yet neer seen, neer

cau%ht? 0he /act o/ the matter is, hoeer,

that the criminal underorld has a kin%, and

his name is Chen&

/?ra&ilian' 7ri!ateers

0here(s a %reat deal o/ +ro/it in +iracy, andcor+orations are aare o/ that& )ome o/ the

most or%anied criminals are +riateers

o+eratin% their on cra/t, oats and shi+s on

aterays, ut also s+aceca+ale cra/t ale to

+rey on inter+lanetary car%o haulers&

By tradition, most o/ these +irates and

+riateers s+eak e #ortu%uese, the

lan%ua%e o/ Brail and eastern )outh America&

;t has led to rumors that most +irates are in the

em+loy o/ )yla .ner%y&

0his rumor has +lenty o/ truth to it it is no

secret that )yla o//icially +ays +riateers to

+rey on its com+etitors in s+ace& 0hey /launt

the +ractice as yet another mode o/

intimidation& ;n the meantime, there is

tremendous money and notoriety to e earned

in the +oorly %uarded shi++in% lanes eteenstations and colonies&

Religion

0he orld(s major reli%ions still eist, thou%h

they hae under%one si%ni/icant chan%es&

A/ter the Colla+se, reli%ious or%aniations

ere the only %rou+s actiely seekin% to hel+

the +oor& e reli%ious moements and sects

hae s+run% u+, more acce+tin% o/ the ra+id

chan%e and sel/au%mentation that has comeith inter+lanetary trael and adances in

%enetic and cyernetic technolo%y&

Heli%ion is a stron% or%aniin% /orce amon%

'utsiders on .arth, and in some cases, on the

s+ace stations and the colonies in the solar

system as ell& Heli%ion is a ay o/ orderin%

li/e that %oes eyond the neo/eudal structure

that has een in +oer /or %enerations the *I is more illin% to

utilie oert iolence to achiee their ends&

'/ course, cor+orations hae no ojection to

+hiloso+hies that em+hasie +aci/ism and

oeyin% tem+oral +oers, so it should e no

sur+rise that many leadin% cor+orate /amilies

hae stron% reli%ious ties as ell& Heli%ious

%rou+s o/ten jum+ at the chance to conert


19/149


20/149

2-

are holdoers /rom a time e/ore mass

communication and the +ostnational +olitics

o/ humans in s+ace, ut old haits die hard&

0here are also a /e realtime translation

deices aailale hich +roide %ood

translations o/ most .arth lan%ua%es7includin% slan%8, thou%h there are numerous

uran myths aout im+ro+er translations or

ino++ortune moments /or the translator

atteries to %o dead&

A common lan%ua%e has emer%ed or%anically

>7oly, short /or +oly%lot& ;t is a man%led

comination o/ slan% /rom a doen lan%ua%es

o/ .arth +e++ered ith rand ne inented

ords dran /rom all corners o/ +o+ular

culture& #oly has no dictionary and the%rammar is oscure to say the least, and you

can(t %et ery /ar discussin% +olitics or

+hiloso+hy, ut it is a ides+read use

lan%ua%e /or those ho don(t ant to other

ith talkin% throu%h a translator, electronic or

otherise& #oly is directly connected to youth

and +o+ular culture& ;t isn(t a++ro+riate /or the

oardroom or courtroom, ut almost

eeryone knos at least a smatterin% o/ #oly

+hrases& !or usiness and education, American

.n%lish is the common lan%ua%e&

)idearote Ian%ua%e isn(t normally

somethin% you need to orry aout in #arsec&

;n some cases, understandin% hat is ein%

said mi%ht re9uire a )kill roll 7Culture8, and

ein% in un/amiliar circumstances ill cause

+enalties hen you(re tryin% to socialie, ut

you don(t need to kee+ track o/ hat

lan%ua%es your character s+eaks > thou%h

Directors may choose to cause

communications reakdons eteen +eo+le/rom time to time i/ it /urthers the +lot or is a

de/ined 'stacle& 7More on this in Cha+ters 3

and 48

(nsi)ers an)


21/149

21

e+ect& 0echnolo%y neer deelo+s at an een

+ace& !or eam+le, urnin% /ossil /uels

+roduces most o/ the ener%y that the modern

Enited )tates uses& 0his is an ine//icient and

ancient technolo%y, ut hen a++lied on a

hu%e scale, it still +oers the orld(s mostim+ortant economy& 'n the other hand, the

Enited )tates( military technolo%y is ithout

+eer& ;/ there is a +ossile military

adancement that can e made, it is usually

done so y the E&)& A /uture society could, /or

eam+le, mirror the modern Enited )tates(

deelo+ment > hi%hly adanced military

technolo%y, ut rudimentary ener%y

+roduction&

At the other end o/ the s+ectrum, a societycould +roduce ast amounts o/ chea+ ener%y

throu%h hi%hly adanced /usion and solar

technolo%ies, hile su++ortin% only a

rudimentary military ith archaic /irearms&

0his dis+arity can also come u+ in any area o/

adancement > in medicine, trans+ortation,

a%riculture, neuroscience or any other

technical /ield& .ach or%aniation, nation,

syndicate and so on is di//erent&

!olloin% are some cate%ories o/ technolo%y

that a//ect the #arsec unierse& 0he +layers

and the Director decide hat each kind o/

technolo%y looks like and ho common it is&&

)kills are necessary to %et somethin% done:

technolo%y +roides color and %uidelines /or

descriin% your character(s actions& 7More on

this in Cha+ter 38

Kee+ in mind that technolo%ical di//erences

only really matter /or ;nsiders& !or 'utsiders,

ener%y is alays %enerated locally or stolen:

ea+ons are alays makeshi/t or sala%ed:technolo%ical deices are alays coled

to%ether /rom sala%ed +arts: thin%s like

simsene or cuttin%ed%e medicine are alays

out o/ reach&

&e*roscience

0he most si%ni/icant adance is the recently

deelo+ed technolo%y o/ recordin% entire

e+eriences hich can e ree+erienced y

another +erson ith similar e9ui+ment& 0hise+erience is simsene, short /or simulated

sensory e+eriences& 0he most conenient

method o/ usin% the so/tare is ia medical

+rocedure, +lacin% im+lants directly into the

rain& ;t is +ossile to e+erience simsene

ithout the e+ensie im+lants, ut the e//ect

is /uier > it doesn(t interru+t all o/ your onsensory in+ut, and the transmission isn(t as

+ure and direct&

Many thinkers and ethicists are ary o/ this

technolo%y and are demandin% that the *I,

national %oernments, and cor+orations +lace

restrictions on the use o/ simsene until the

lon%term e//ects are understood& Meanhile,

simsene recordin%s o/ the e+eriences o/

celerities enjoy massie sales, entertainment

is ein% +roduced hich takes oer the entiresensory system o/ the customer(s rain, and

moralists decry the hole thin%& $ack sho+s

sell /aulty %ear that /ries neurons or at est

%ies a /uy transmission, oyeurism has a

hole ne meanin%, and the era has arried

here eerythin% you e+erience can e

stored on a data chi+ to e re+layed later > /or

the ri%ht +rice&

nergy

0he majority o/ ener%y comes /rom /usion+oer, thou%h this +oer re9uires rare

elements /ound +rimarily o//orld& 'n .arth,

/usion +oer is au%mented y solar, tidal,

ind, %eothermal, and hydroelectric, as ell

as iodiesel /uel and a%in% conentional

/ission +lants& !usion reactions hae +roen

stale and e//icient and there hae een no

si%ni/icant incidents on .arth, thou%h

mal/unctions hae +roen disastrous o//orld

7Most s+aceshi+s are +oered y sel/

contained /usion cores, re/ueled hen the shi+

is ale to dock&8&

;n s+ace, most o/ the stations in orit around

.arth also use solar arrays, collectin% ener%y

/rom the sun hich is then transmitted to the

sur/ace ia +oer/ul lasers, relayin% ener%y to

the /inal destination /or conersion and then

consumer use&

0his aundance o/ ener%y means the ealthy

can lie it

Parsec - Rulebook.pdf

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Transcript of Parsec - Rulebook.pdf