last updated 18-Nov-23
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
We found the pillar in the remote wastes of a polar ice cap on our homeworld.It was millions of years old and fashioned from an unknown and indestructible metal. Etched on its iron-gray surface was a map which described the location of the Forge and the gates that would lead us to them.
The gates - titanic iron-gray constructs found in the deep space between systems - came to life as they were approached, creating powerful magnetic fields that generated artificial wormholes. Automated probes sent through them sent back the data we needed and the exodus fleets transitted the wormholes. But then they went dormant and despite years of study, we’ve found no way to awaken them.
This is a combination of options 1 & 3 from the Truths Workbook
3. COMMUNITIES
We have made our mark in this galaxy.Starships navigate along bustling trade routes between settlements. We’ve built burgeoning outposts on the fringes of known sectors, and bold spacers chart new paths into unexplored domains.
Each of the Clans created from the crews of the Exodus ships control territories in the Forge ranging from planets to sectors in size and territorial skirmishes between them are common.
Another combination, this time options 2 & 3 from the Truths Workbook. For The Clans I want to get a samurai feel, very much like those of the Tsurani in Janny Wurts' Empire trilogy (with the 'Game of Houses' political struggles)
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
Our communities are bound under the terms of the Covenant, a charter established after the Exodus. Bounty hunters are given wide latitude to pursue their contracts and their authority is almost universally recognized.Most settlements are still governed under the Covenant and only the foolish stand between a determined bounty hunter and their target.
2 & 3 this time
6. RELIGION
Our gods failed us. We left them behind.The Exodus was a tipping point. The gods offered no help to the billions who died in the cataclysm, and spirituality has little meaning in the Forge. Most now see religion as a useless relic of our past. But the search for meaning continues, and many are all-too-willing to follow a charismatic leader who claims to offer a better way.
I don't want religion to be a factor in this game and this is the best option for that
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.
And the same for Magic
8. COMMUNICATION AND DATA
Star systems have a network of data hubs called 'The Weave' allow near-instantaneous communication and data-sharing between ships and outposts.When a ship arrives in a new system, the local Weave automatically updates the ship's data with the latest available information - this is 'sent' rather than 'pulled', so is not detectable.
Modified option 3
9. MEDICINE
Healers preserve our medical knowledge and train new generations of caregivers throughout the Forge. Life-saving advanced care is available within larger communities throughout the sectors of the Forge. It is a very rare community that does not have a healer or an 'expert' automated system.
Again, a modified option 3
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 the clans. The rest of us are on our own.Called Bannersworn, the soldiers swear lifelong service to a clan in return for a pension when they become unable to serve, whether through old age or injury. If they outlive the clan or are dismissed, they are called Ronin after the ancient Japanese masterless warriors who live a mercenary existence.
Based on option 2, but tailored so I can have my PC as a ronin
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
The biomechanical lifeforms we call the Remnants, engineered by civilizations as weapons in a cataclysmic war, survived the death of their creators.On scarred planets and within precursor vaults throughout the Forge, the Remnants still guard ancient secrets and fight unending wars.
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.
As with Religion and Magic, I don't want Horrors in my game, but I'm not as convinced with Horrors, so they may turn up at some point ...