1. CATACLYSM
We escaped the ravages of a catastrophic war.Over millennia, we consumed resources and shattered lives as we fueled the engines of industry, expansion, and war. In the end, a powerful foe took advantage of our rivalries in a violent bid for power. Fleeing the devastation, we assembled our fleets and traveled to the Forge. A new home. A fresh start. In this final war, we were set upon by 'genetically engineered creatures'
I'm going for an 'Aliens' vibe here. Creatures like the aliens were the 'gentically engineered soldiers' of the Cataclysm, but no-one knows if they were engineered, found, or escaped
2. EXODUS
When the Exodus fleet set off on a ponderous journey to a new home outside our galaxy, they marked the Forge as their destination. Countless generations lived out their lives aboard those titanic ships during the millennia-long passage.The refugees built a rich legacy of culture and tradition during the Exodus. Some even remained in the ships after their arrival in the Forge, unwilling or unable to leave their familiar confines. Those vessels, the Ironhomes, still sail the depths of this galaxy
3. COMMUNITIES
Dangers abound, but there is safety in numbers. Many ships and settlements are united under the banner of one of the Founder Clans.We have a tentative foothold in this galaxy. Each of the Founder Clans honour the name and legacy of a leader who guided their people in the chaotic time after the Exodus. Vast reaches of the settled domains are claimed by the clans, and territorial skirmishes are common.
The clans are 'Noble Houses' (taken from Dune books) each of which rules an area ranging from one planet to multiple sectors
4. IRON
Iron vows are sworn upon the remnants of ships that carried our people to the Forge.Many of our outposts were built from the iron bones of the Exodus ships. Fragments of the ships were also given to survivors as a remembrance, and passed from one generation to the next. Today, the Ironsworn swear vows upon the shards to honor the sacrifice of their forebears, the essence of the places left behind, and the souls of those great ships.
5. LAWS
Laws and governance vary across settled domains, but bounty hunters are given wide latitude to pursue their contracts. Their authority is almost universally recognized, and supersedes local laws.Through tradition and influence, bounty hunter guilds are given free rein to track and capture fugitives in most settled places. Only the foolish stand between a determined bounty hunter and their target.
The Noble Houses install Governors to run their domains who are given production quotas to meet and are entirely free to choose their own methods, so these range from scrupulously honest to thoroughly corrupt and the whole gamut between
6. RELIGION
Three dominant religious orders, the Triumvirate, battle for influence and power within the Forge.Our communities are often sworn to serve one of the three doctrines of the Triumvirate. For many, faith offers purpose and meaning. But it also divides us. Throughout our brief history in the Forge, the leaders of the Triumvirate have pitted us against one another. For this reason, some are apostates who disavow these religions and follow a different path.
7. MAGIC
Magic does not exist.Some look to superstition and age-old traditions for comfort in this unforgiving galaxy. But that is foolishness. What some call magic is simply a product of technologies or natural forces we aren’t yet equipped to understand.
8. COMMUNICATION AND DATA
Information is life. We rely on spaceborne couriers to transport messages and data across the vast distances between settlements.Direct communication and transmissions beyond the near-space of a ship or outpost are impossible. Digital archives are available at larger outposts, but the information is not always up-to-date or reliable. Therefore, the most important communications and discoveries are carried by couriers who swear vows to see that data safely to its destination.
Cerberon is a member of the Iron Heralds - the Couriers' guild
9. MEDICINE
Orders of sworn healers preserve our medical knowledge and train new generations of caregivers.Life-saving advanced care is available within larger communities throughout the settled sectors of the Forge. Even remote communities are often served by a novice healer, or can request help from a healer’s guild in an emergency.
10. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial consciousness emerged in the time before the Exodus, and sentient machines live with us here in the Forge.Our ships, digital assistants, bots, and other systems often house advanced AI. For a lone traveler, machine intelligence can provide companionship and aid within the perilous depths of the Forge.
11. WARS
Professional soldiers defend or expand the holdings of those who are able to pay. The rest of us are on our own.Mercenary guilds wield power in the Forge. Some are scrappy outfits of no more than a dozen soldiers. Others are sectorspanning enterprises deploying legions of skilled fighting forces and fleets of powerful starships. Most hold no loyalty except to the highest bidder.
12. LIFEFORMS
This is a perilous and often inhospitable galaxy, but life finds a way.Life in the Forge is diverse. Planets are often home to a vast array of creatures, and our starships cruise with spaceborne lifeforms riding their wake. Even animals from our homeworld - carried aboard the Exodus ships - have adapted to live with us in the Forge.
13. PRECURSORS
Over eons, a vast number of civilizations rose and fell within the Forge. Today, the folk we call grubs - scavenger crews and audacious explorers - delve into the mysterious monuments and ruins of those ancient beings.Incomprehensible technologies, inexorable time, and the strange energies of the Forge have corrupted the vaults of the precursors. Despite the perils, grubs scour those places for useful resources and discoveries. But some secrets are best left buried, and many have been lost to the forsaken depths of the vaults.
14. HORRORS
Put enough alcohol in a spacer, and they’ll tell you stories of ghost ships crewed by vengeful undead. It’s nonsense.Within the Forge, space and time are as mutable and unstable as a flooding river. When reality can’t be trusted, we are bound to encounter unsettling phenomenon.