Erik Boielle
SOC-12
...On this sub-board anyway...
In 1248, as the New Era dawns, the Star Vikings are gone. Their legacy remains, and their story is not ended. But in the New Era, the Reformation Coalition has become something else and the Star Vikings are gone from what used to be "Imperial In 1248, as the New Era dawns, the Star Vikings are gone. Their legacy remains, and their story is not ended. But in the New Era, the Reformation Coalition has become something else and the Star Vikings are gone from what used to be "Imperial Space"
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1. Yes, I'll be exploring the Guild (Diaspora Phoenix gives a little detail about them).
2. New Era: Well... The Reformation Coalition seem to think it starts in 1201 and adopted a dating system accordingly, but other material specifically takes it that the New Era is POst Star Vikings. My take is that several New Eras were declared. the one that stuck was the one proclaimed by the 4th Imperium in 1248, because they're writing the history books. I don't imagine the RC "New Era" would impress the Regency, or the Restored Ziru Sirka ("New Era? Hardly, just a few hiccups over the past centuries... it's still the same as always...")
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(Is the 4thI Hiver related?)
My TNE project has no connection with anything developed elsewhere. As to the Hivers... too complex to explain here, but do remember that Hivers dislike confrontation. Their instinct will be to hunker down and try to influence from a distance rather than risk their (many) limbs out there in the wreckage....
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Charted Space is fragmented into several smaller polities; most of the great monolithic powerblocs are now splintered into several factions (some fighting, some getting along and some separated by Wilds). There are some distinct "regions" separated by wilds, with the odd "trade corridor" through them, and with room for player-created "pocket polities".
As to Terra, she has yet a role to play. But the main field of play is likely to be the borders of the 4th Imperium - not telling too much about that just yet.
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Dark. I do dark. Don't like daylight, in fact. Dark is good.
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I liked it for many reasons, not least of which is the truly epic vision of humaniti face down in the mud, then lurching to its collective feet and stumbling onward into a frightening future, but determined to tame that future
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The 4th Imperium was born in darkness and pain. It was born despite the enmity of governments and leaders; born of a need among the common people for something better than what was then in existence.
Psychohistory of the sort disparaged by Strephon in Survival Margin, did not create the 4th Imperium. Its creators were the people who wanted to be its citizens, and they made it in their own image.
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For three generations the starship Gray Ghost has lain derelict, forgotten as the mighty Third Imperium tore itself apart in civil war.
In those long decades the ship has witnessed Humaniti's fall into barbarism as the worlds of Diaspora Sector lost their fight against the darkness.
Then a band of desperate individuals, fleeing a brutal planetary invasion, launch a salvage operation. The Gray Ghost is their only chance of escape, but it becomes more than that. For if destruction can be carried between the stars, then so can hope.
Hope that the few remaining civilized worlds can unite. Hope that the darkness can be rolled back.
Hope that it is not too late for Humaniti to regain the stars. Five people set out aboard Gray Ghost, to forge an alliance against the darkness. But theirs is a greater destiny, one that will in time decide the fate of all Humaniti. For among the ashes of Disapora Sector, a Phoenix waits to be born.
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Phoenix at Bay (Abstract)
As the Lerun Federation crumbles under the onslaught of Guild-backed Imperial Raymore, the fledgling United Worlds Alliance continues to expand. But once Raymore's attention is no longer diverted by the Federation, the UWA will surely fall.
Phoenix At Bay deals with the darkest days of the UWA, from a rescue mission on Darryl and the diplomatic efforts at Lerun, to the final, last-ditch defence of Phoenix against the massed forces of Raymore and the Guild.
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Phoenix Rising
Several years after the Battle of Phoenix, the UWA has become a powerful "Pocket Empire" in Diaspora Sector. Contact with the Reformation Coalition brings new possibilities but also new challenges as the Coalition attempts to assimilate the UWA.
Attempts to find an acceptable solution are deadlocked and sliding towards open conflict when the balance of power is tipped by the arrival of new forces.
Long-range messengers from the Regency and elsewhere arrive at Phoenix, seeking allies and trading partners.
Phoenix receives emissaries from the emerging powers; the Reformation Coalition, the Regency and the Second Rule of Man. Rumours speak of a Reconstituted Ziru Sirka away to Coreward too.
Phoenix is caught in the middle of powerplays on all sides; The question seems to be simply: whose puppet will the UWA become?
But there is another power at work in Diaspora Sector, a subtle one which may yet hold the key to the fate of the sector, the UWA, or even all humaniti
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Phoenix in Black
Word comes to Phoenix; the Reconstituted Ziru Sirka has forced a treaty on the troubled Regency and hurled its fleets in a new direction.
As the Ziru Sirka plunges into the Black Curtain, tearing a path to the Imperial Core in a final repetition of the insanity of the Rebellion, other powers are drawn into the Curtain War.
For on the heels of the shattered Ziru Sirka fleets come the forces of the Black Imperium. The Curtain is open and Lucan's legacy is unleashed upon the defenceless worlds.
UWA personnel once again attempt to forge an alliance. This Grand Alliance seems a forlorn hope, but it is the only chance to prevent the rise of an all-powerful Black Imperium.
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Imperial Phoenix
The Grand Alliance is poised and ready, but it is a fragile thing, puny against the might of the Black Imperium.
All humaniti has answered the call as best they can; the Zhodani Concord, the Reformation Coalition, the True Solomani and the Second Rule of Man; Ships have even come from the collapsed Regency and the smoking ruins of Vland.
It is not enough.
The only hope of victory lies in a death-or-glory assault on the heartworlds of the Black Imperium, to shatter its fleets and break its power forever. But the Grand Alliance is a shaky thing, with no cohesive structure. If any faction flinches from the appalling losses they will surely take, then all the alliance fleets are lost, and with them any hope of victory.
Yet each faction has its agenda; its reason for driving on to Capital and tearing out the heart of the Black Imperium.
Within the Black Curtain are found answers to many of the questions of the New Era; aid unlooked-for; and a threat as great as the Black Imperium itself.
Victory seems impossible, but defeat is death. And in the fire and darkness of the Black Imperium, perhaps a phoenix may yet arise from the shattered Sunburst.
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The Ancients are gone. Like, Ancient. Of course, some of the things they did or left lying about do have a strong bearing on the setting.
There are Droyne in the M1248 setting, yes.
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The Regency breaks up, creating smaller states, of which some are affiliated with the 4I.
The RC becomes something else.
And yes, the Star Vikings do leave Charted Space.
Some people have suggested that they go as a scapegoat for all the blood shed in the reconstruction. be that as it may, what they do when they leave will wipe away any stain forever.
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(Adventure Outline)
OKay...
It's set in the wreckage of the Black Imperium, in a system where pretty much everything has collapsed. The system has been taken by forces of the Reconstituted Ziru Sirka (what's left of it).
The characters are operators of a salvage ship, who stumble across a lead that might make them rich (or at least able to leave for better worlds).
Of course, the chasing down this lead will be difficult, and it'll lead to places nobody expected.
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MY vision is all in shades of gray, with a lot of black (!). Nobody is right, everyone has motivations. and some of the compromises are grim.
But I won't be ramming a storyline down your throats (though there are several metaplots).
And the Star Vikings DO leave Charted Space. Not saying what they do, though; only that their story is not over in 1248.
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Craig is my TNE Hero.
Ironic, really, since he never lived to see the end of the Hard Times. Daibei (and Craig) went down fighting, trying to keep the lights on in the darkness. Ultimately, they failed.
... Or did they?
The lights went out in Daibei, but when they came on again across the old Imperium the men and women who took his name were there to help guide Humaniti back to civilization. Craig turned his back on the 3rd Imperium, but not on its people.
To those in the darkness, his emissaries brought a little hope.
And to the Fourth Imperium Duke Craig can be said to have given a still greater thing. His legacy, if you will.
Craig's gift to the 4th Imperium?
He gave it what the 3I lost.
A conscience.
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Diaspora Phoenix shows a little of the "better" side of the guild, how it went bad and why it's not all bad.
Fact is, every power has something that the others don't like. Virus alliance, Psions, Guild raiding/slaving. But they all have a part to play.
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Strephon knew about all the secret research projects. He knew about Omicron, knew what the Cymbelline Superweapon Project could do.
He could not have predicted the exact situation of its release, but he knew it might be coming in some form.
Not saying any more right now.
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I'm not telling about Lucan and the Black Imperium. Suffice to say that Lucan (or his shadow/legacy/whatever) has a part to play in the future of humaniti as well as in the fall of the 3I, and that in the future there will be those who light sad candles to the memory of Lucan the Great.
You'll have to wait and see on that one.
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Strephon fell apart when he hear about the assassination. On top of what he *knew* was coming, his plan to redirect the Imperium had not only failed, it had broken it completely AND slaughtered Strephon's family in the process.
His followers took him to a safe place, and in time, he collected himself. Then he came out fighting, trying to put it all back together. And when he couldn't, he made the most courageous decision of the entire rebellion - he stopped fighting.
He, the rightful emperor, stopped trying for his throne, and for one reason - because to take it back, he'd have had to kill more of his own people (of all factions).
Instead, Strephon dedicated his life to preserving what he could of his people around Usdiki. He, too,, looked after his people until the hammer came down and the lights went out.
But that's not quite all he did.
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IN 1248, what used to be the RC calls itself the Freedom League.
The Freedom League is allied to the 4I, sort of.
Virus is still around, but it's faded into the background more or less.
The Usdiki Sentients' Rights Accords grant stable Virus citizenship.
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Adequately.
the 1206 meeting is a long-distance scouting contact, not a butting of borders. The UWA has at this time helped break the Guild's power and won its first battle for survival (Phoenix at Bay)
During this period the Ziru Sirka resurges, fights a bitter war with the Regency, then turns and plunges into the Black Curtain to take Capital and claim the restored Imperium as theirs. Some ships actually make it to Capital.
This triggers the Curtain War, as the Black Imperium falls on the Vilani and then pours out across local space ("Phoenix in Darkness")
Elements of the Regency, RC, UWA, Ziru Sirka and Usdiki Faction fleets take on the Black Imperium in what becomes the War of the Grand Alliance.
Capital is taken by the Grand Alliance, but falls immediately to an outside threat; the Dominate.
The Grand Alliance collapses, and the Regency is split over whether it should proclaim itself the Imperial Regency and continue as the legitimate successor to the Imperium.
As the Imperial Regency implodes in civil war, the Peacemakers create a compromise between the UWA, Regency elements, RC, remains of the Ziru Sirka etc.
This compromise is the basis of the 4th Imperium, though its scattered members pledge allegiance to the Vacant Throne rather than the Emperor.
The forces of this new Imperium throw back the Dominate and destroy the Black Imperium ("Phoenix Rising")
It becomes apparent that the Dominate remains a tremendous threat, and the 4th Imperium and its allies, plus successor states (Spinward Coalition, League of Deneb etc), make a final gamble on a slim chance of victory.
The Grand Fleet of All Humaniti confronts the Dominate in Gateway Domain, hoping to stem the tide before it is too late. For the first and only time in history, all the major branches of humaniti are together, fighting against extinction. "Sunburst Phoenix"
In the aftermath of the Last Stand, there are several successor states. Most are no bigger than a few subsectors, with Wilds in between.
Finally, an individual worthy of the title is found, and crowned Emperor of the 4th Imperium. Thus begins the New Era, 1248.
The first act of the new Emperor is to ask for volunteers for a new challenge. The Star Vikings take up the challenge and leave Charted Space in a fleet of starships. The leave behind the Freedom League, a successor state to the RC.
The New Era begins in 1248. Nothing is the same, but some things don't change. Charted Space contains many moderately powerful states, of which the 4th Imperium is perhaps the most powerful.
And after?
A new story for a new era...
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I see the Lords of Thunder got a mention. SO I'll say it: Virus is not G'Naak. Do the math.
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(Someone else said):
I would think the Black Imperium is the successor to Virus. (I.e. what is left after only "sane" Virus strains remain.) I am curious, in a traffic-accident sense, what sick and twisted form of man/machine combination has resulted there.
The Dominate, I would think, needs to be some non-human (obviously), non-Virus threat. My guess is that it is recovered K'kree on a "jihad" rampage.
The way that could work is the K'kree suffer from Virus just like everyone else. However, as they recover they discover that Virus was a human invention.
At that point the most militant, extreme views of K'kree thought take hold and they, as a group, decide that the only way to be safe from the meat eaters is to just kill them all.
End Quote.
This all seems very plausible to me. Though there may be the odd surprise.
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There was no riling. I just meant that an alliance kinda makes sense. As to the would the Hivers pose a threat to such an expansion, yes they would.
So, a question. The Hivers are working through catspaw humans, with minimal resources. If they recovered so well, what else are they doing? Hmm.
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I know exactly what the Wave is, what it does, and why it matters. But don't ask right now. It's one of the last mysteries of the New Era.
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The Wave causes some effects in human space, but will not smash everything flat, nor rip the setting apart.
It does, however, trigger one of the greatest human endeavours of all time, made all the more incredible by the fact that humaniti is still clawing its way out of the wreckage. Because this is something that isn't necessary for survival.
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The declaration of the New Era will be the first day of the new period - the day that (deleted) ascends the Vacant Throne to lead the Fourth Imperium. This is 1248.
The storyline will be spelled out from 1200 but left somewhat loose to allow folks to play in that period, and becoming more detailed as 12478 approaches. IN fact, the last pre-New Era years will be the setting for a bunch of adventures that lead into the New Era -1248 setting.
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It'll spell out the broad sweep from 1200- 1248, then concentrate on the setting as it is in 1248. That leaves refs free to fill in the details of 1200 etc as they please.
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The interaction between Wave and Virus is a chaotic system - some positive effects, some negative, some too minor to notice.
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Canon is divided about the Droyne in the New Era. ON one hand we have clear indications that they are up to something. On the other, Dave N stated that 'the Droyne are out of the picture'.
Moudray was a GT invention. For copyright reasons alone, that exact thread will not repeat inot M1248.
But that isnt to say that the Droyne are not going to feature. Even a new supersport would not = Ancients, it'd just be anbother potential Grandfather. OC, today's droyne are not the same as those Yaskoydray rose to lead....
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The actual composition of the three Regency Successor States is a little vague as yet:
The League of Deneb
The League of Spinward States
The Imperial Regency
One idea is for an alliance to be forced upon the Daryens and the Swordies, who finally manage to cooperate- after a fashion - to expand their holdings.
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Umm, well then:
The 1248 milieu will be looking at some Coreward stuff, probably in one of the Grand Adventures.
The Dominate rules the 2000 worlds.
Virus is part of the Black Imperium's structure. It WAS powerful around core at the time of the opening & the War of the Grand Alliance.
I did consider combining 1248 and the Imperium book. Not sure if its doable though.
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I don't think I ever said who or what the Dominate was up to now. I'm sure someone will figure it out sooner or later.
There are large expanses of K'Kree space that are basically Wilds, and then there's the (somewhat diminished) Hive Federation, which is in a state of siege (the Hivers feel that way anyway), and thus generally staying in the bunkers but for the expeditions to places like the RC.
The Black Imperium is of course Lucan's Imperium after all those Virus ships got through with it.
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I said the Dominate rules the 2000 words. There's a slight difference.
Not all the 2000 worlds are under Dominate, well, domination. The actual power is held by an alliance of some Virus strains and certin K'Kree.
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As to 1248 being Dark, I have to agree. There are/have been some dark times, but this is a story of triumph and rebirth. Painful, but glorious.
It's not about darkness. It's about finding light.
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There are two main Solomani groups, the Terran Federation and the Solomani Confederation. Both are successors to the old Solomani confed but rather different in their approach to things.
There are also numerous minor states.
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I've discovered I have a policy. It's evolved over time but here it is:
Generally I try to answer questions. If, however, I find the question high-handed, canonista-inquisitorial or phrased in such a way that suggests hatred of a concept that I'm working with, or worst of all, written in such a way that it feels like someone is demanding that I answer for my actions, well, I don't answer.
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Virus is part of the Traveller canon. I have to work with it whatever anyone may think.
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There is an assumption here that the 4I is founded by the Regency. It is not.
Indirectly, the Regency is involved in the formation of the 4I, and indeed some of its brightest and best do journey there, leaving behind the failing Regency.
Democracy cannot work over parsec distances with J6 couriers. There is no FTL commo or J6 breakthrough. Therefore, democracy is not an option but for a small state.
The Regecny is a brave experiment, but ultimately doomed to failure. It needs to do too much in a short time, while its problems and internal divisions multiply.
Of the successor states to the Regency, some follow its better ideals, some go their own way and one rejects everything the Imperium ever stood for, yet manages to drag itself down into darkness anyway.
The Fourth Imperium is founded on the concept that the only way to govern over long distances is through trustworthy local leaders owing fealty, allegiance and honour to their far-off superiors, but who are trusted to do what they must within a framework set down by the central commanders.
This was the ideal of the Third Imperium, and it worked. Once iot became corrupted, it failed. The Emperor Search is simply a quest to find someone that is worthy to lead and rule; for a long time the 4I answers to a council of advisors and a Vacant Throne.
Two pivotal events change that - the emergence of an unlikely paragon in the last hours of the Dominate War, who shows that sometimes central leadership is the only way, and that even the worst people aren't totally evil - and the discovery of a person deemed fit to ascend the Vacant Throne.
The 4th Imperium is smaller than the third, and in many ways it is the core of what the Imperioum should have been - burned clean, purified in the dark days of the Reconstruction, and born of the actions not of generals and admirals, but of diplomats.
History records the founders of the Fourth Imperium as visionaries, but they were not warriors. They were peacemakers.
Their ideal was the man who stopped fighting to save his people - Strephon. Though he had more reason than anyone to fight on, he stopped because that was all he could do for his people.
It is that side of the Imperial Nobility that the 4th Imperium reveres. People like Duke Craig, who also refused to fight for rulership, instead choosing to look after his people. Those are traditions to be proud of.
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Lucan's tale is integral to the TNE 1248 storyline.
Craig we know *just* failed to hold it all together long enough.
Margaret's faction got hammered by Virus.
Strephon knew about Research Station Omicron.
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But about Omicron. Strephon knows about it. Now, he couldn't know what would happen in a premature release, but he knows that Lucan has access to a project that can infect computers and shut them off.
Does anyone think that Strephon would NOT have made at least some attempt to protect his ships and computers against infection?
Now, Strephon knows the location of all the Jumpstart caches. He's got partial Virus defence.
Implications?
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Lots of people were screaming about how the 4I is stupid because the Regency would never found it, and I kept on smirking and saying "yes, that's right. They wouldn't".
The truth is now out. The 4th Imperium is largely founded and based upon the Usdiki Faction (or the Usdkiki Peacemakers as they become known).
They have partial Virus resistance and knowledge of Jumpstart. These are powerful tools, though not enough on their own.
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They (The Grand Alliance?) don't tear it (the black curtain) down. They go in, in massive force.
And then something comes out.
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The black Curtain is not a spatial phenomenon or anything. Light goes in and out. Thing is, ships that get close to the edge vanish, or turn up as wreckage. There is no clear 'event horizon'; some ships have got in further than others and come back alive.
But there is a point that you don't come back from. It's just not fixed, that's all.
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By 1240 the Curtain is gone and what remains of the Black Imperium is laid bare.
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FWIW: Who says the RC doesn't beat the Solee etc? And, the 4I is not the third. Certainly not the Imperium that killed all those people over succession issues.
The Star Vikings do have a part to play in the future of Charted Space.
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There will be no FTL comms, nor Psionic Knights.
-MJD
In 1248, as the New Era dawns, the Star Vikings are gone. Their legacy remains, and their story is not ended. But in the New Era, the Reformation Coalition has become something else and the Star Vikings are gone from what used to be "Imperial In 1248, as the New Era dawns, the Star Vikings are gone. Their legacy remains, and their story is not ended. But in the New Era, the Reformation Coalition has become something else and the Star Vikings are gone from what used to be "Imperial Space"
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1. Yes, I'll be exploring the Guild (Diaspora Phoenix gives a little detail about them).
2. New Era: Well... The Reformation Coalition seem to think it starts in 1201 and adopted a dating system accordingly, but other material specifically takes it that the New Era is POst Star Vikings. My take is that several New Eras were declared. the one that stuck was the one proclaimed by the 4th Imperium in 1248, because they're writing the history books. I don't imagine the RC "New Era" would impress the Regency, or the Restored Ziru Sirka ("New Era? Hardly, just a few hiccups over the past centuries... it's still the same as always...")
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(Is the 4thI Hiver related?)
My TNE project has no connection with anything developed elsewhere. As to the Hivers... too complex to explain here, but do remember that Hivers dislike confrontation. Their instinct will be to hunker down and try to influence from a distance rather than risk their (many) limbs out there in the wreckage....
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Charted Space is fragmented into several smaller polities; most of the great monolithic powerblocs are now splintered into several factions (some fighting, some getting along and some separated by Wilds). There are some distinct "regions" separated by wilds, with the odd "trade corridor" through them, and with room for player-created "pocket polities".
As to Terra, she has yet a role to play. But the main field of play is likely to be the borders of the 4th Imperium - not telling too much about that just yet.
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Dark. I do dark. Don't like daylight, in fact. Dark is good.
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I liked it for many reasons, not least of which is the truly epic vision of humaniti face down in the mud, then lurching to its collective feet and stumbling onward into a frightening future, but determined to tame that future
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The 4th Imperium was born in darkness and pain. It was born despite the enmity of governments and leaders; born of a need among the common people for something better than what was then in existence.
Psychohistory of the sort disparaged by Strephon in Survival Margin, did not create the 4th Imperium. Its creators were the people who wanted to be its citizens, and they made it in their own image.
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For three generations the starship Gray Ghost has lain derelict, forgotten as the mighty Third Imperium tore itself apart in civil war.
In those long decades the ship has witnessed Humaniti's fall into barbarism as the worlds of Diaspora Sector lost their fight against the darkness.
Then a band of desperate individuals, fleeing a brutal planetary invasion, launch a salvage operation. The Gray Ghost is their only chance of escape, but it becomes more than that. For if destruction can be carried between the stars, then so can hope.
Hope that the few remaining civilized worlds can unite. Hope that the darkness can be rolled back.
Hope that it is not too late for Humaniti to regain the stars. Five people set out aboard Gray Ghost, to forge an alliance against the darkness. But theirs is a greater destiny, one that will in time decide the fate of all Humaniti. For among the ashes of Disapora Sector, a Phoenix waits to be born.
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Phoenix at Bay (Abstract)
As the Lerun Federation crumbles under the onslaught of Guild-backed Imperial Raymore, the fledgling United Worlds Alliance continues to expand. But once Raymore's attention is no longer diverted by the Federation, the UWA will surely fall.
Phoenix At Bay deals with the darkest days of the UWA, from a rescue mission on Darryl and the diplomatic efforts at Lerun, to the final, last-ditch defence of Phoenix against the massed forces of Raymore and the Guild.
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Phoenix Rising
Several years after the Battle of Phoenix, the UWA has become a powerful "Pocket Empire" in Diaspora Sector. Contact with the Reformation Coalition brings new possibilities but also new challenges as the Coalition attempts to assimilate the UWA.
Attempts to find an acceptable solution are deadlocked and sliding towards open conflict when the balance of power is tipped by the arrival of new forces.
Long-range messengers from the Regency and elsewhere arrive at Phoenix, seeking allies and trading partners.
Phoenix receives emissaries from the emerging powers; the Reformation Coalition, the Regency and the Second Rule of Man. Rumours speak of a Reconstituted Ziru Sirka away to Coreward too.
Phoenix is caught in the middle of powerplays on all sides; The question seems to be simply: whose puppet will the UWA become?
But there is another power at work in Diaspora Sector, a subtle one which may yet hold the key to the fate of the sector, the UWA, or even all humaniti
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Phoenix in Black
Word comes to Phoenix; the Reconstituted Ziru Sirka has forced a treaty on the troubled Regency and hurled its fleets in a new direction.
As the Ziru Sirka plunges into the Black Curtain, tearing a path to the Imperial Core in a final repetition of the insanity of the Rebellion, other powers are drawn into the Curtain War.
For on the heels of the shattered Ziru Sirka fleets come the forces of the Black Imperium. The Curtain is open and Lucan's legacy is unleashed upon the defenceless worlds.
UWA personnel once again attempt to forge an alliance. This Grand Alliance seems a forlorn hope, but it is the only chance to prevent the rise of an all-powerful Black Imperium.
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Imperial Phoenix
The Grand Alliance is poised and ready, but it is a fragile thing, puny against the might of the Black Imperium.
All humaniti has answered the call as best they can; the Zhodani Concord, the Reformation Coalition, the True Solomani and the Second Rule of Man; Ships have even come from the collapsed Regency and the smoking ruins of Vland.
It is not enough.
The only hope of victory lies in a death-or-glory assault on the heartworlds of the Black Imperium, to shatter its fleets and break its power forever. But the Grand Alliance is a shaky thing, with no cohesive structure. If any faction flinches from the appalling losses they will surely take, then all the alliance fleets are lost, and with them any hope of victory.
Yet each faction has its agenda; its reason for driving on to Capital and tearing out the heart of the Black Imperium.
Within the Black Curtain are found answers to many of the questions of the New Era; aid unlooked-for; and a threat as great as the Black Imperium itself.
Victory seems impossible, but defeat is death. And in the fire and darkness of the Black Imperium, perhaps a phoenix may yet arise from the shattered Sunburst.
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The Ancients are gone. Like, Ancient. Of course, some of the things they did or left lying about do have a strong bearing on the setting.
There are Droyne in the M1248 setting, yes.
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The Regency breaks up, creating smaller states, of which some are affiliated with the 4I.
The RC becomes something else.
And yes, the Star Vikings do leave Charted Space.
Some people have suggested that they go as a scapegoat for all the blood shed in the reconstruction. be that as it may, what they do when they leave will wipe away any stain forever.
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(Adventure Outline)
OKay...
It's set in the wreckage of the Black Imperium, in a system where pretty much everything has collapsed. The system has been taken by forces of the Reconstituted Ziru Sirka (what's left of it).
The characters are operators of a salvage ship, who stumble across a lead that might make them rich (or at least able to leave for better worlds).
Of course, the chasing down this lead will be difficult, and it'll lead to places nobody expected.
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MY vision is all in shades of gray, with a lot of black (!). Nobody is right, everyone has motivations. and some of the compromises are grim.
But I won't be ramming a storyline down your throats (though there are several metaplots).
And the Star Vikings DO leave Charted Space. Not saying what they do, though; only that their story is not over in 1248.
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Craig is my TNE Hero.
Ironic, really, since he never lived to see the end of the Hard Times. Daibei (and Craig) went down fighting, trying to keep the lights on in the darkness. Ultimately, they failed.
... Or did they?
The lights went out in Daibei, but when they came on again across the old Imperium the men and women who took his name were there to help guide Humaniti back to civilization. Craig turned his back on the 3rd Imperium, but not on its people.
To those in the darkness, his emissaries brought a little hope.
And to the Fourth Imperium Duke Craig can be said to have given a still greater thing. His legacy, if you will.
Craig's gift to the 4th Imperium?
He gave it what the 3I lost.
A conscience.
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Diaspora Phoenix shows a little of the "better" side of the guild, how it went bad and why it's not all bad.
Fact is, every power has something that the others don't like. Virus alliance, Psions, Guild raiding/slaving. But they all have a part to play.
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Strephon knew about all the secret research projects. He knew about Omicron, knew what the Cymbelline Superweapon Project could do.
He could not have predicted the exact situation of its release, but he knew it might be coming in some form.
Not saying any more right now.
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I'm not telling about Lucan and the Black Imperium. Suffice to say that Lucan (or his shadow/legacy/whatever) has a part to play in the future of humaniti as well as in the fall of the 3I, and that in the future there will be those who light sad candles to the memory of Lucan the Great.
You'll have to wait and see on that one.
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Strephon fell apart when he hear about the assassination. On top of what he *knew* was coming, his plan to redirect the Imperium had not only failed, it had broken it completely AND slaughtered Strephon's family in the process.
His followers took him to a safe place, and in time, he collected himself. Then he came out fighting, trying to put it all back together. And when he couldn't, he made the most courageous decision of the entire rebellion - he stopped fighting.
He, the rightful emperor, stopped trying for his throne, and for one reason - because to take it back, he'd have had to kill more of his own people (of all factions).
Instead, Strephon dedicated his life to preserving what he could of his people around Usdiki. He, too,, looked after his people until the hammer came down and the lights went out.
But that's not quite all he did.
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IN 1248, what used to be the RC calls itself the Freedom League.
The Freedom League is allied to the 4I, sort of.
Virus is still around, but it's faded into the background more or less.
The Usdiki Sentients' Rights Accords grant stable Virus citizenship.
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Adequately.
the 1206 meeting is a long-distance scouting contact, not a butting of borders. The UWA has at this time helped break the Guild's power and won its first battle for survival (Phoenix at Bay)
During this period the Ziru Sirka resurges, fights a bitter war with the Regency, then turns and plunges into the Black Curtain to take Capital and claim the restored Imperium as theirs. Some ships actually make it to Capital.
This triggers the Curtain War, as the Black Imperium falls on the Vilani and then pours out across local space ("Phoenix in Darkness")
Elements of the Regency, RC, UWA, Ziru Sirka and Usdiki Faction fleets take on the Black Imperium in what becomes the War of the Grand Alliance.
Capital is taken by the Grand Alliance, but falls immediately to an outside threat; the Dominate.
The Grand Alliance collapses, and the Regency is split over whether it should proclaim itself the Imperial Regency and continue as the legitimate successor to the Imperium.
As the Imperial Regency implodes in civil war, the Peacemakers create a compromise between the UWA, Regency elements, RC, remains of the Ziru Sirka etc.
This compromise is the basis of the 4th Imperium, though its scattered members pledge allegiance to the Vacant Throne rather than the Emperor.
The forces of this new Imperium throw back the Dominate and destroy the Black Imperium ("Phoenix Rising")
It becomes apparent that the Dominate remains a tremendous threat, and the 4th Imperium and its allies, plus successor states (Spinward Coalition, League of Deneb etc), make a final gamble on a slim chance of victory.
The Grand Fleet of All Humaniti confronts the Dominate in Gateway Domain, hoping to stem the tide before it is too late. For the first and only time in history, all the major branches of humaniti are together, fighting against extinction. "Sunburst Phoenix"
In the aftermath of the Last Stand, there are several successor states. Most are no bigger than a few subsectors, with Wilds in between.
Finally, an individual worthy of the title is found, and crowned Emperor of the 4th Imperium. Thus begins the New Era, 1248.
The first act of the new Emperor is to ask for volunteers for a new challenge. The Star Vikings take up the challenge and leave Charted Space in a fleet of starships. The leave behind the Freedom League, a successor state to the RC.
The New Era begins in 1248. Nothing is the same, but some things don't change. Charted Space contains many moderately powerful states, of which the 4th Imperium is perhaps the most powerful.
And after?
A new story for a new era...
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I see the Lords of Thunder got a mention. SO I'll say it: Virus is not G'Naak. Do the math.
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(Someone else said):
I would think the Black Imperium is the successor to Virus. (I.e. what is left after only "sane" Virus strains remain.) I am curious, in a traffic-accident sense, what sick and twisted form of man/machine combination has resulted there.
The Dominate, I would think, needs to be some non-human (obviously), non-Virus threat. My guess is that it is recovered K'kree on a "jihad" rampage.
The way that could work is the K'kree suffer from Virus just like everyone else. However, as they recover they discover that Virus was a human invention.
At that point the most militant, extreme views of K'kree thought take hold and they, as a group, decide that the only way to be safe from the meat eaters is to just kill them all.
End Quote.
This all seems very plausible to me. Though there may be the odd surprise.
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There was no riling. I just meant that an alliance kinda makes sense. As to the would the Hivers pose a threat to such an expansion, yes they would.
So, a question. The Hivers are working through catspaw humans, with minimal resources. If they recovered so well, what else are they doing? Hmm.
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I know exactly what the Wave is, what it does, and why it matters. But don't ask right now. It's one of the last mysteries of the New Era.
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The Wave causes some effects in human space, but will not smash everything flat, nor rip the setting apart.
It does, however, trigger one of the greatest human endeavours of all time, made all the more incredible by the fact that humaniti is still clawing its way out of the wreckage. Because this is something that isn't necessary for survival.
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The declaration of the New Era will be the first day of the new period - the day that (deleted) ascends the Vacant Throne to lead the Fourth Imperium. This is 1248.
The storyline will be spelled out from 1200 but left somewhat loose to allow folks to play in that period, and becoming more detailed as 12478 approaches. IN fact, the last pre-New Era years will be the setting for a bunch of adventures that lead into the New Era -1248 setting.
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It'll spell out the broad sweep from 1200- 1248, then concentrate on the setting as it is in 1248. That leaves refs free to fill in the details of 1200 etc as they please.
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The interaction between Wave and Virus is a chaotic system - some positive effects, some negative, some too minor to notice.
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Canon is divided about the Droyne in the New Era. ON one hand we have clear indications that they are up to something. On the other, Dave N stated that 'the Droyne are out of the picture'.
Moudray was a GT invention. For copyright reasons alone, that exact thread will not repeat inot M1248.
But that isnt to say that the Droyne are not going to feature. Even a new supersport would not = Ancients, it'd just be anbother potential Grandfather. OC, today's droyne are not the same as those Yaskoydray rose to lead....
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The actual composition of the three Regency Successor States is a little vague as yet:
The League of Deneb
The League of Spinward States
The Imperial Regency
One idea is for an alliance to be forced upon the Daryens and the Swordies, who finally manage to cooperate- after a fashion - to expand their holdings.
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Umm, well then:
The 1248 milieu will be looking at some Coreward stuff, probably in one of the Grand Adventures.
The Dominate rules the 2000 worlds.
Virus is part of the Black Imperium's structure. It WAS powerful around core at the time of the opening & the War of the Grand Alliance.
I did consider combining 1248 and the Imperium book. Not sure if its doable though.
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I don't think I ever said who or what the Dominate was up to now. I'm sure someone will figure it out sooner or later.
There are large expanses of K'Kree space that are basically Wilds, and then there's the (somewhat diminished) Hive Federation, which is in a state of siege (the Hivers feel that way anyway), and thus generally staying in the bunkers but for the expeditions to places like the RC.
The Black Imperium is of course Lucan's Imperium after all those Virus ships got through with it.
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I said the Dominate rules the 2000 words. There's a slight difference.
Not all the 2000 worlds are under Dominate, well, domination. The actual power is held by an alliance of some Virus strains and certin K'Kree.
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As to 1248 being Dark, I have to agree. There are/have been some dark times, but this is a story of triumph and rebirth. Painful, but glorious.
It's not about darkness. It's about finding light.
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There are two main Solomani groups, the Terran Federation and the Solomani Confederation. Both are successors to the old Solomani confed but rather different in their approach to things.
There are also numerous minor states.
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I've discovered I have a policy. It's evolved over time but here it is:
Generally I try to answer questions. If, however, I find the question high-handed, canonista-inquisitorial or phrased in such a way that suggests hatred of a concept that I'm working with, or worst of all, written in such a way that it feels like someone is demanding that I answer for my actions, well, I don't answer.
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Virus is part of the Traveller canon. I have to work with it whatever anyone may think.
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There is an assumption here that the 4I is founded by the Regency. It is not.
Indirectly, the Regency is involved in the formation of the 4I, and indeed some of its brightest and best do journey there, leaving behind the failing Regency.
Democracy cannot work over parsec distances with J6 couriers. There is no FTL commo or J6 breakthrough. Therefore, democracy is not an option but for a small state.
The Regecny is a brave experiment, but ultimately doomed to failure. It needs to do too much in a short time, while its problems and internal divisions multiply.
Of the successor states to the Regency, some follow its better ideals, some go their own way and one rejects everything the Imperium ever stood for, yet manages to drag itself down into darkness anyway.
The Fourth Imperium is founded on the concept that the only way to govern over long distances is through trustworthy local leaders owing fealty, allegiance and honour to their far-off superiors, but who are trusted to do what they must within a framework set down by the central commanders.
This was the ideal of the Third Imperium, and it worked. Once iot became corrupted, it failed. The Emperor Search is simply a quest to find someone that is worthy to lead and rule; for a long time the 4I answers to a council of advisors and a Vacant Throne.
Two pivotal events change that - the emergence of an unlikely paragon in the last hours of the Dominate War, who shows that sometimes central leadership is the only way, and that even the worst people aren't totally evil - and the discovery of a person deemed fit to ascend the Vacant Throne.
The 4th Imperium is smaller than the third, and in many ways it is the core of what the Imperioum should have been - burned clean, purified in the dark days of the Reconstruction, and born of the actions not of generals and admirals, but of diplomats.
History records the founders of the Fourth Imperium as visionaries, but they were not warriors. They were peacemakers.
Their ideal was the man who stopped fighting to save his people - Strephon. Though he had more reason than anyone to fight on, he stopped because that was all he could do for his people.
It is that side of the Imperial Nobility that the 4th Imperium reveres. People like Duke Craig, who also refused to fight for rulership, instead choosing to look after his people. Those are traditions to be proud of.
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Lucan's tale is integral to the TNE 1248 storyline.
Craig we know *just* failed to hold it all together long enough.
Margaret's faction got hammered by Virus.
Strephon knew about Research Station Omicron.
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But about Omicron. Strephon knows about it. Now, he couldn't know what would happen in a premature release, but he knows that Lucan has access to a project that can infect computers and shut them off.
Does anyone think that Strephon would NOT have made at least some attempt to protect his ships and computers against infection?
Now, Strephon knows the location of all the Jumpstart caches. He's got partial Virus defence.
Implications?
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Lots of people were screaming about how the 4I is stupid because the Regency would never found it, and I kept on smirking and saying "yes, that's right. They wouldn't".
The truth is now out. The 4th Imperium is largely founded and based upon the Usdiki Faction (or the Usdkiki Peacemakers as they become known).
They have partial Virus resistance and knowledge of Jumpstart. These are powerful tools, though not enough on their own.
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They (The Grand Alliance?) don't tear it (the black curtain) down. They go in, in massive force.
And then something comes out.
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The black Curtain is not a spatial phenomenon or anything. Light goes in and out. Thing is, ships that get close to the edge vanish, or turn up as wreckage. There is no clear 'event horizon'; some ships have got in further than others and come back alive.
But there is a point that you don't come back from. It's just not fixed, that's all.
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By 1240 the Curtain is gone and what remains of the Black Imperium is laid bare.
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FWIW: Who says the RC doesn't beat the Solee etc? And, the 4I is not the third. Certainly not the Imperium that killed all those people over succession issues.
The Star Vikings do have a part to play in the future of Charted Space.
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There will be no FTL comms, nor Psionic Knights.
-MJD
