Author Topic: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition  (Read 29296 times)

Liam's Ghost

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Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« on: 17 July 2016, 23:32:09 »
Kellerman's Haven (Minima)
Star Type: M9V
Charge Time: 210 hours
Transit Time: 1.96 days

Position in System: 1st (0.035 AU from primary)
Diameter: 11,500 km
Gravity: 0.96
Escape Velocity: 10.392 km/s
Day Length: 690 hours
Satellites: None, in tidally locked orbit of the gas giant Maxima, and part of a system of twenty four satellites.

Atmospheric Pressure: High
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 90%
Equatorial Temperature: 33.85 C
Highest Native Life: Amphibian

Population: 140,000,000
Government: Kellerman Free Republic (Representative Democracy)
HPG Class: none
Recharge Stations: none

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: C
Industrial Development: D
Industrial Output: D
Agricultural Dependence: B
Raw Material Dependence: A

(NOTE: In accordance with formal requests of the Kellerman Free Republic, all data relating to the location of this star has been omitted from formal records)

Overview:

The system of Kellerman's Haven was colonized in the early 25th century by followers of Adam Kellerman, a particularly radical Taurian seperatist advocating complete isolation from the rest of human occupied space. Preaching a message of "Prosperity through Isolation", Kellerman was seen as, at best, a bit of a fringe kook by most of the public, but he still managed to gather together a few thousand followers in the wake of the Capellan-Taurian Rim War and disappear into the depths of the periphery in a rickety old Aquilla. Never heard from again, most who wondered about their fate assumed the poorly prepared expedition simply died out somewhere in the depths of space.

Instead, the expedition stumbled across a surprisingly fertile world orbiting a gas giant, itself orbiting a dim M9 star. After the most basic of surveys, Adam Kellerman declared that the expedition had found its new home and ordered colonization to commence. Within a year, three quarters of the expedition were dead, and Kellerman himself had been lynched (and possibly eaten) by a starving mob, but the colonists were stuck there. One of Kellerman's last acts before his death was to have their colony ship crashed into the ocean.

Though the locals had come to the world (initially named Minima to contrast it with the gas giant Maxima) with an abundance of enthusiasm, they came with none of the skills or equipment necessary to tame their new environment. Minima is tidally locked to its parent Maxima, and as such has a painfully long day/night cycle. The local flora has adapted by basically dying out during the long night, only to regrow with terrifying rapidity once the sun returns. Not only did this cycle prohibit the basic open air agriculture the settlers were used to, but their early, makeshift settlements were often overwhelmed by sudden explosions of vines and mosses from what they thought was bare earth. In time, the settlers learned to adapt by painful trial and error, creating "roofed" settlements that guided plant growth over and away from the populated areas (and providing extra insulation and shade during the hottest parts of the long day), while creating self contained hydroponic "vertical farms" to grow necessary food year round (supplemented by certain local edible flora during the long day). Gradually, the colony prospered until it was home to millions of reasonably content citizens, some of whom even regarded the long dead Kellerman as less a lunatic and more a misunderstood visionary. This "rehabilitation" of the character's history has in turn led to the state that has come to dominate the world to take the name Kellerman Free Republic, and further christen the star system they inhabit Kellerman's Haven.

Even so, their contacts with the outside world have been reasonably friendly. Their first contact was with an independent trading vessel under the command of Galen Gessup which saw the populous, somewhat mineral rich, and out of the way world as an ideal trading parter. Through much trial and error (including one grave misstep where some of Minima's plant life got loose on Hellespont and gradually consumed a small town before it was contained) Gessup finally found his niche in an unexpected place, guns. The appearance of outsiders had led to a brief but massive spike in the sale of small arms among Minima's isolationist population, but that bubble quickly burst once it became apparent that these outsiders weren't interested in hurting anybody. Seeing an opportunity, Gessup began buying up these excess stockpiles of small arms and military grade weapons, shipping them out primarily to seperatist worlds caught between the Taurian Concordat and Calderon Protectorate. From this humble beginning, Gessup Military Industries has grown to produce and distribute a wealth of weapons ranging from small arms to light combat vehicles, to even a battlemech manufactured at a small plant located among the eastern islands. Both Gessup and the Kellerman Free Republic are quite happy with the arrangement, to the degree that the Republic has granted Gessup exclusive rights to all trade between their homeworld and the rest of human occupied space.

This relationship made things tense when Interstellar Expeditions stumbled across the system in 3121. Confronted by a heavily armed dropship owned by Gessup Military Industries, it took two days of heated negotiations before the IE vessel was allowed to make contact with the locals and learn their story, and even then, their stay was brief before being politely but firmly escorted out of the system with a warning not to return uninvited. Interstellar Expeditions has no intention to revist the system at this time.

GM Section

Gessup Military Industries guards its monopoly over interstellar trade as fiercly as it can, but they are inherently limited by their resources. The company possesses two dropships, both heavily modified and armed Buccaneers, and a lone Merchant class dropship. The jumpship and one of the dropships is almost always away on deliveries. Their security forces consist of a single lance of light battlemechs and a few platoons of infantry, all assigned to defend their production plants on an island in the eastern ocean.

And yes, Gessup Military Industries is operating a functioning battlemech plant, which produces a modest number of their own variant of the Locust annually. However, the factory is dependent on an outside supplier for critical parts (weapons, fusion engines, gyroscopes). Though Gessup would like to be able to handle all production in house, the local infrastructure will not be able to support that for some time to come.

Regardless, their production and distribution of war materials into the contested region between the Concordat and Protectorate has gotten considerable negative attention from both sides. Each of whom would like to cut off the unregulated flow of weapons into worlds they would eventually like to claim. Gessup has placed a lot of faith in the anonymity of their location to protect them from any response, though perhaps if they were better at astronomy they'd be more worried about the data they did let IE share.

The local military is almost entirely infantry as a consequence of the planet's unique ecology. The settlements are all essentially underground, or soon will be as successive "generations" of local flora grow over them, die, spring back up again, die again, and gradually bury them in dirt. Tight quarters in the settlements and the underground transit systems connecting them make heavy combat units impractical.

If you are simulating battles on the planetary surface, you should consider the time of "day", or rather the point in the twenty nine day cycle that passes for a local day. During the long day, the plant life is insanely active, ultimately clogging everything it can reach with dense vines and foliage. As a general rule, when you play scenarios during the "height of day" (roughly 5 to 9 days into local day), you should increase the level of any woods hex by one (up to ultra heavy as described on Tactical Operations page 40) and treat every clear hex as rough terrain. Terrain that is already rough becomes Ultra Rough (Tactical Operations page 39)

During the long night, the local plant life rapidly dies back. To simulate this, scenarios taking place between "midnight" (roughly 7 days into local night) and "dawn" should reduce the level of any woods hex by one (heavy to light, light becomes light level one foliage as described on Tactical Operations page 36).

For simplicity's sake, you can use unmodified maps to resolve fights at other times of "day".

Local technology is relatively limited. Personal equipment is generally limited to tech level C, and heavy equipment is almost unheard of (even personal vehicles, the locals rely on mass transit). Gessup does bring in high tech imports from the outside world, but these are primarily small low volume high margin consumer goods, or critical high tech parts to support their military production. Weapons and armor with a tech rating of D or higher should be considered to have an availability rating of F for locals.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #1 on: 18 July 2016, 05:38:33 »
New Zion

Star Type: G6V
Charging Time: 187 hours
Transit Time: 7.01 days

Position in System: 3rd (0.9 AU from primary)
Diameter: 7500 km
Gravity: 0.45
Escape Velocity: 5.733 km/s
Day Length: 28 hours
Satellites: None

Atmospheric Pressure: Thin
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 40%
Equatorial Temperature: 13.85 C
Highest Native Life: Mammals

Population: 12,000,000
Government: None
HPG Class: none
Recharge Stations: none

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: D
Industrial Development: F
Industrial Output: F
Agricultural Dependence: C
Raw Material Dependence: C

Overview:

Colonized by Fundamentalist sects from the American midwest, the world of New Zion was for much of its history a shining success story of the Periphery. Though a marginal world according to nearly every metric, the colony of New Zion grew at an explosive rate due primarily to religious imperatives advocating massive families and prohibiting birth control. A relatively mild climate and plentiful native life suitable for exploitation removed many of the barriers to the growth of such an isolated colony, and a good cross section of scientific learning allowed them to sustain a healthy technology level, even in the wilds of the periphery. By the time of the clan invasion, the world of New Zion was host to well over a billion residents and a highly sophisticated fusion era economy.

In fact, they grew too fast. By at least the dawn of the 31st century, the population had been growing far faster than its ability to gather resources to sustain itself. The New Zion of the 31st century was not a fusion powered paradise, but a collection of squabbling states competing, even waging major wars, over scarce resources, watching their infrastructure crumble under the strain of their population. Even their rush to master and embrace fusion power was an act of desperation as more conventional sources of power dried up. Ultimately, even the promises of cheap energy through fusion only sparked a new war over control of the technology.

At some point in mid 3050s, a series of nuclear strikes by one faction against another led to a global nuclear exchange on par with those witnessed in the First Succession War. When the dust settled an estimated ninety percent of the population was dead, and any notion of a prosperous civilization was long gone.

The New Zion of today is predominantly a wasteland gripped by a perpetual nuclear winter. Organized nation states have begun to re-emerge in recent decades, but even the largest of these are at best collections of agrarian communities home to a few thousand struggling survivors. Industry is non-existent, technology is limited to what can be scavenged from irradiated ruins or lost bunkers, food is scarce and famine is an ever present threat. Order and justice are luxuries.

From a scientific standpoint, New Zion presents an exceptional case study of both man's capacity for destruction and its ability to endure. It is one of the few examples of a civilization recovering from extreme catastrophe in isolation of outside help that can be found in the whole of known space. Therefore it is the principle mandate of Interstellar Expeditions in this case to observe, but to avoid direct interference or contact. In isolated cases, subjects may be gathered for further study, but at all times care must be made to maintain our anonymity.


GM Section

Before the nuclear exchanges that essentially ended civilization, New Zion was a relatively advanced collection of states (though in most ways still well behind the inner sphere). Now it's a burned out husk. The vast majority of the population (probably over ninety percent) is employed wholly in producing the crops necessary to keep them alive. In addition, birth defects, a result of both residual radiation and post war population bottlenecks, are a fact of life. Life tends to be short, hard, and unpleasant, and will probably take some time to get better.

What this means is that characters generated under the A Time of War rules use the independent/generic affiliation with the following modifiers: Secondary language becomes Any. Add the negative trait Handicap -20, increase the Willpower bonus to +40. Characters from New Zion are limited to the slave stage one module, the adolescent warfare stage two module, the back woods, farm, or street stage one or two module, the military enlistment (limited to scout, medical assistant, or police officer advanced training fields and no special training fields) stage three module, and the merchant, ne'er-do-well, or tour of duty stage four module. It should be assumed that all such characters meant to adventure beyond New Zion were abducted from the world by Interstellar Expeditions for research.

New Zion characters generated from before the nuclear exchange can be generated as standard independent/generic characters.

At the point of the nuclear exchange, New Zion had developed a technology relatively comparable to the Inner Sphere before the introduction of the Battlemech, save for some advances in powered exoskeletons, the relative scarcity of fusion power, and the complete lack of mechs of any kinds. New Zion combat vehicles should be built as support vehicles with a maximum tech rating of D and a maximum barrier armor rating of seven. They generally should NOT be fusion powered, as that was still an emerging technology used primarily for civil power production.

In addition, New Zion had developed a powered combat exoskeleton roughly comparable to a PA(L), with many of the nations of the time using them in combat. The basic suits can be represented by a PA(L) suit with two points of armor and one ground movement point, though at the time of the nuclear exchange, advanced suits with faster ground or even jump movement were starting to appear. These suits are fitted with armored gloves and use standard infantry weapons.

The post-war societies that formed have only limited military capabilities. Almost none have operable combat vehicles (those they do have are pre-war salvage), In addition, there are very few full time troops, with most settlements depending on ad hoc militias. Power armor is prized, but in short supply (and likewise salvaged) and frequently badly repaired. The majority of post war armor should have no more than a single armor point. Salvaged pre-war weapons such as laser rifles tend to be issued to power armored troops, while unarmored troops are left with low tech (tech B or C non-automatic) ballistic weapons. Even among the largest organized states, available forces are limited, to the point where an entire platoon strength unit might not be available for battle, much less occupying the same general space. I strongly advise use of the squad deployment rules (tactical operations page 27).
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

nerd

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #2 on: 19 July 2016, 08:45:29 »
"New Zion" sounds like you're trying to do "Fallout" with out the Dirty Commies in Battletech.
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Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #3 on: 20 July 2016, 18:21:33 »
Maaaaybe.

Though I stopped short of adding robots and deathclaws, and it would be a more "hard scifi" style post apocalyptic setting than Fallout's (no Ghouls, for example). The resulting feel would probably be closer to Threads.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Natasha Kerensky

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #4 on: 21 July 2016, 02:12:23 »

Glad to see this is back.
"Ah, yes.  The belle dame sans merci.  The sweet young thing who will blast your nuts off.  The kitten with a whip.  That mystique?"
"Slavish adherence to formal ritual is a sign that one has nothing better to think about."
"Variety is the spice of battle."
"I've fought in... what... a hundred battles, a thousand battles?  It could be a million as far as I know.  I've fought for anybody who offered a decent contract and a couple who didn't.  And the universe is not much different after all that.  I could go on fighting for another hundred years and it would still look the same."
"I'm in mourning for my life."
"Those who break faith with the Unity shall go down into darkness."

Dragon Cat

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #5 on: 21 July 2016, 02:50:54 »
Couple of fun little worlds
My three main Alternate Timeline with Thanks fan-fiction threads are in the links below. I'm always open to suggestions or additions to be incorporated so if you feel you wish to add something feel free. There's non-canon units, equipment, people, events, erm... Solar Systems spread throughout so please enjoy

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20515.0.html - Part 1

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,52013.0.html - Part 2

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,79196.0.html - Part 3

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #6 on: 21 July 2016, 15:05:16 »
Woo goo! Looking forward to more. :)
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes / When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-- Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #7 on: 25 July 2016, 08:23:28 »
Jaguar's Redoubt (Judea)
Star Type: F7V
Charging Time: 178 hours
Transit Time: 12.89 days 1.3

Position in system: 2nd (1.2 AU from primary)
Diameter: 12,500 km
Gravity: 0.84
Escape Velocity: 10.154 km/s
Day Length: 21 hours
Satellites: 1 (Masada)

Atmospheric Pressure: Standard
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 40%
Equatorial Temperature: 40 C
Highest Native Life: Reptiles

Population: 26,000,000
Government: Autocratic/Communist ("Clan Ghost Jaguar")
HPG Class: none
Recharge Stations: none

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: B
Industrial Development: B
Industrial Output: B
Agricultural Dependence: C
Raw Material Dependence: C

Overview:

The world once known as Judea was first colonized shortly before the Star League by Federated Suns dissidents fleeing defeat in the aftermath of the fall of Nicolai Rostov. Far enough out of the way of the Great Houses and near periphery trade routes to escape notice, Judea spent the majority of the Star League years in near complete isolation, only encountering outsiders in the League's final years, as colonists eager to seek out new lands began trickling into the region.

As the League fell and resources needed to support colonization were squandered on the Succession Wars, Judea and the struggling colonies around it managed to slip back into isolation. Though Judea itself was relatively prosperous, the remoteness and overall poverty of the region was enough to draw pirates to more fertile hunting grounds in the Inner Sphere and near periphery. After decades, generations, and then centuries of peaceful growth, the illusion of security became so ingrained in the Judean psyche that even its once prized defense forces, a small contingent of battlemechs brought with them on their long flight from the Federated Suns, was deemed unnecessary and mothballed.

The illusion was shattered in 3062, when remnants of the recently destroyed Clan Smoke Jaguar under the command of self styled "Khan" Cassandra Ismiril arrived in the system. Though barely a combined arms trinary in number, this force (calling themselves the Ghost Jaguars) were quickly able to destroy the lightly armed Judean security forces and set about to reshape the planet to match the vision of their leader and her dream of a reborn clan. Badly outnumbered by the populace, the Ghost Jaguars ruled through terror, relying on forced breeding programs, brutal suppression, and even asteroid bombardment to maintain their authority. By 3067, their atrocities had become so extreme that they had even come to the attention of the second Star League, which, based on a Comstar Explorer Service account of the affairs on Judea (now named Jaguar's Redoubt by their conquerors), was preparing a military response.

The collapse of the second Star League and subsequent Jihad prevented any decisive action against the Ghost Jaguars occupying Judea. The Word of Blake is believed to have detonated a five hundred kiloton nuclear warhead over the world's largest population center in 3074, but either poor intelligence or disinterest meant that little damage was done to the power structure of the occupying forces. In fact, the attack only seemed to have a unifying effect. Unable to deal with the aftermath of the attack within the structures of their rigid clan system, the ruling Ghost Jaguars were forced to both loosen their grip over the civilian population and release critical resources and technology to civilian use.

By the time the last Trueborn clan warriors gradually passed away and were replaced in leadership positions by their "pureborn" and "halfborn" descendants, the last rigid guidelines of the caste system had faded away into the current two tier system. In line with its heritage, the warrior caste remains the governing body of Jaguar's Redoubt, and to become a member of the Warrior Caste requires a direct blood link (traced matriliniearly after the first generation) to one of the original Jaguar occupiers). The civilian caste, on the other hand, has none of the stratification of the clan system, with its members able to move between jobs as their qualifications and the needs of the state require. This flexibility has allowed Jaguar's Rest to fully recover from both the Blakist attack and the Ghost Jaguars own initial conquest. Today, though subject to pervasive state control of every key industry, the average civilian still enjoys a moderately higher standard of living than what they had prior to the Jaguar invasion (the local media is quick to play this up, and downplay the widespread ecological damage from rampant, poorly regulated industrialization, and the consequent damage to the agricultural industry).

The Warrior Caste, of course, receives the best of everything, including technology. Their crown jewel is a small plant, built at tremendous expense to the nation, that manufactures a trickle of Swordsman battlemechs. Though primitive by any modern standards, these machines have given the Warrior Caste considerable firepower. More than enough, in fact, to lead them to embrace their heritage. In 3100, the Ghost Jaguars began an aggressive and far reaching campaign of raiding and piracy, seeking out technology, resources, and additional manpower to support their growing state. In the succeeding decades, the Ghost Jaguars have hit targets ranging from the Thelos Sector to the Lyran periphery, never lingering in one area for very long. So far, their relatively small numbers and the remoteness of their homeworld has spared them from reprisals.

Gamemaster's Section

Though the Ghost Jaguars maintain some of the trappings of their distant clan ancestors, very little of their clan heritage remains. There are no Iron Wombs on Jaguar's Redoubt, and as such there have been no Trueborns among the Ghost Jaguars since the 3090s. Those who can trace their heritage back to a "pureborn" (born of two trueborns) ancestor tend to have more prestige among the Warrior Caste, however.

Though the Warrior Caste operates as the ruling body of the world as a whole, day to day rule is conducted by a senior council of civilian leaders, which is able to operate with minimal interference as long as the needs of the Warrior Caste are met. Every facet of the economy is tightly controlled by this civilian council in furtherance of broad goals set by the Warrior Caste.

Militarily, the Ghost Jaguars are organized into points, stars, binaries, and trinaries, and can presently assemble three mixed trinaries of troops (of regular quality). If using more than a single star of forces in battle, no more than half the force may be composed of mechs. Ghost Jaguar forces are not bound by clan honor rules.

The original founders of the Judea colony brought with them several SWD-2 Swordsman battlemechs (XTRO:Primitives 4), as well as plans for the mech's construction. Factory built Swordsmen began entering service in 3096. For scenarios taking place after 3096, at least half of the mechs of any Ghost Jaguar force must be composed of SWD-2 Swordsman. Because of poor manufacturing techniques, these mechs receive the additional negative design quirk: Poor performance. 

Very little of their original clan technology still remains functional, and even what they do have is older second line hardware. On the table top, when fielding a Ghost Jaguar force, no more than a single point per star may use clan technology, and even this is limited to Elemental battle armor, or conventional vehicles or second line (non-omni) battlemechs available to Clan Smoke Jaguar during the Clan Invasion era (as listed on the master unit list).

Jaguars Redoubt/Judean characters use the Independent/Generic affiliation, and may not take any stage three military training modules. Members of the Warrior Caste receive an additional +100 xp to Reputation and -100 xp to Handicap. They also use the stage 2: Freeborn sibko module for their military training. Disregard the reputation and compulsion:clan honor XP modifiers and reduce the number of flexible XP by 70. This is the only Clan specific module the character may enter unless captured by a real clan.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Dragon Cat

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #8 on: 25 July 2016, 17:33:00 »
Cool I like how some of the trappings of the clan way has merged with the planet and nice basis for a pirate group
My three main Alternate Timeline with Thanks fan-fiction threads are in the links below. I'm always open to suggestions or additions to be incorporated so if you feel you wish to add something feel free. There's non-canon units, equipment, people, events, erm... Solar Systems spread throughout so please enjoy

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20515.0.html - Part 1

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,52013.0.html - Part 2

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,79196.0.html - Part 3

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #9 on: 26 July 2016, 02:39:31 »
They almost feel like a new Clannish Circinus.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes / When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-- Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #10 on: 29 July 2016, 01:33:30 »
Refuge
Star Type: M9V
Charge Time: 210 hours
Transit Time: 1.96 days

Position in System: 4th (0.024 AU from primary)
Diameter: 15,500 km
Gravity: 0.82
Day Length: 48 hours
Satellites:  4 (1st Moon, 2nd Moon, 3rd Moon, 4th Moon)

Atmospheric Pressure: Standard
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 30%
Equatorial Temperature: 40.85 C
Highest Native Life: Reptiles

Population: 2,551,000
Government: Confederation (multiple city states)
HPG Class: none
Recharge Stations: none

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: C
Industrial Development: F
Industrial Output: F
Agricultural Dependence: C
Raw Material Dependence: B

An arid world poor in fresh water, wracked by dust storms, and under constant meteor bombardment, nobody would expect Refuge to be anybody's ideal home. The world is the largest of the four terrestrial sized and thousands of smaller objects that orbit within their parent star's inner system, a situation that subjects Refuge to virtually unpredictable tidal affects, greatly disturbed weather patterns, and regular extinction level impact events.

These evolutionary pressures have resulted in a unique ecosystem that becomes more complex the deeper underground you go. Native life on the surface is quite limited, dominated (at least before colonization) by small, six legged reptilian creatures which fed primarily on smaller surface dwelling insect populations. Below the surface, however dwells a vast and highly complex variety of invertebrate life able to extract the nutrients they needed to live from the very rock they lived in. The constant burrowing and feeding of these creatures have created vast underground cave networks, many large enough for humans to pass through or even settle in comfortably. The local lifeforms have also created an unexpected boon for human habitation due to their feeding methods. As they break down rock for nutrients, they also excrete those minerals they can't use (primarily metals) into their surroundings, gradually building up rich deposits of resources of great value to human settlers. As a consequence, though Refuge overall is rather "metal poor" as planets go, vast deposits are available for exploitation with relatively minimal effort.

Colonization had a varying impact on the local ecology. In addition to the rats that come along with so many expeditions, the colonists brought with them an unusually large population of common housecats, which spread out of control across the planet with no natural predators to hold them in check. The political instability of the early colonization effort makes it impossible to judge the true impact they have had, but they have adapted well to the arid conditions and can currently be considered the world's apex predator.

The world's original settlers never came to this system with the intention of settling here. The colonists that would go on to found Refuge were refugees of the early succession wars, seeking out a new home that wasn't gripped by devastating warfare. The expedition was uniquely large, well funded, and equipped for the era, hosting thousands of refugees and plentiful supplies aboard nine large cargo dropships, all transported by a single Monolith class jumpship. And they had an excellent prospect, a G type star in the Mid Periphery already home to an established, peaceful colony. Unfortunately, they never made it. While passing through an unremarkable system dominated by an M9 type star, their jumpship suffered a catastrophic drive failure. Unable to repair the damage, the colonists assumed they were doomed until a desperate survey revealed a single habitable world among the dense asteroid belt surrounding the local star. With no other choice, the colonists made landfall, christening their accidental home Refuge.

The first couple centuries of the colony were difficult to say the least. Poor soil, unstable weather, and constant shortages of fresh water led to conflicts over scarce resources, as the settlers divided into nine competing settlements built from the dismantled hulls of their dropships. Very quickly, each side began to realize that the key to dominance rested with the expedition's small contingent of battlemechs and trained mechwarriors. Unfortunately, the mechwarriors themselves realized this at the same time. Very quickly, conflict between the factions became dominated by freelance mechwarriors selling their services to the highest bidder. Whatever stability the colony could have achieved as a unified whole was lost as resources and technology were squandered in pointless conflict.

Even so, some strange form of stability did gradually take hold. By the thirty first century, Refuge had regressed to a collection of pre-industrial city states that continued to squabble over resources as basic as fresh water, but the conflict had taken a strange turn. Mechwarrior errants continued to roam the planet in centuries old, often badly repaired battlemechs, and the city states still competed to buy their service as leverage over their rivals, but actual battles between mechwarriors took the form of primarily ceremonial dueling. The vast majority were fought to "first blood", meaning that even the loser would only suffer at best minor damage and be allowed to retire to fight again. Those who willfully violated this code of conduct were branded as outlaws and hunted relentlessly by their fellow warriors.

The centuries had also helped develop a unique belief structure, possibly in an effort to find meaning in the struggles of daily life. Until Interstellar Expeditions visited the world in 3057, it was considered and undeniable fact by the locals that they represented, if not the last of the human race, then the last that didn't envy the dead. The original colonists had brought along memories of the early Succession Wars, and gradually these tales mutated from a story of a massive sphere wide war to one of a universal apocalypse that left nothing but suffering and death in its wake. The name of their world took on new meaning, for all its faults, Refuge was literally that, their refuge from the nightmare they had left behind.

As such, their first contact with outsiders was... difficult. The first expedition to Refuge was met with a combination of confusion, disbelief, even outrage from the populace. A second expedition a year later was met with outright violence, and had to be aborted to avoid causing excessive damage and loss of life among the locals. Further expeditions were limited to orbital observations only (though these bore little fruit due to the pre-industrial nature of the world's inhabitants). When the Jihad began, expeditions were halted completely for the duration.

When an Interstellar Expeditions vessel made its way back to the system, they were surprised to detect a transmission from a high powered radio transmitter on the surface inviting them back. Unbeknownst to IE, the years following the last expedition had been a time of upheaval between those threatened by the idea of outsiders and those enchanted by stories of the thriving Inner Sphere, and for the first time in decades, these tensions had boiled over into actual conflict. For nearly six years, the city states warred against each other, claiming thousands of lives and destroying the majority of the surviving battlemechs on the planet, but in the end, the isolationists were defeated, and for the first time since their founding, Refuge stood unified under a single governing body, now eager to reap the benefits of contact with the outside world.

Today, the change to Refuge has been staggering. Traders and adventurers have flocked to the planet, drawn by the promise of cheap access to strategic resources and the inherent romance of the world's story. Though they no longer serve as a means for one city to enforce its will on another, the mechwarrior errants remain an active and respected aspect of the world's culture, their duels now serving as a form of entertainment not unlike that of Solaris. Though little known in the Inner Sphere, the low risk, high reward nature of the dueling culture on Refuge has attracted a trickle of Warriors from across the Inner Sphere eager to try their hands.

Foreign trade has also brought technology to Refuge. Portable fusion and solar power generators are becoming increasingly common, bringing electricity to a growing segment of the population, while small, portable "workbench" assembly plants are gradually cranking out an increasing supply of small, low cost modern conveniences. Possibly the greatest impact was caused by the introduction of the Odessan Raxx and the Tariq to the world. The locals, previously having no beasts of burden or vehicles to support heavy lifting or trade have now been able to establish extensive trade networks between the cities and various outposts, settlements and Oasis' scattered across the world, more thoroughly binding them together and strengthening the economy of the entire world. The success of these animals has created a heavy local demand for the introduction of additional animal species. Horses quickly followed for practical reasons, though some animals, such as the Jardinian Firecat and the Peregrine Falcon, have been introduced purely as status symbols for the wealthy. More farsighted individuals are seeking out hardy crops and other plant life more suited to Refuge's poor soil with the long term goal of creating a more robust Terran style ecosystem, though such efforts are decades from fruition.


Gamemaster's Section

The Mechwarrior Errants of Refuge were able to persist for generations primarily through their dueling system, which is designed to prevent serious damage to any combatant. Generally, these duels are limited to physical attacks and energy weapons dialed down to roughly half their normal power (rounded down, use the rules found on pg 102 of Tactical Operations). Ammunition fed weapons are not used primarily due to a lack of ammunition. Battles are fought to "first blood". For game purposes this is defined as the first to either destroy all armor in a location, sever a limb, or inflict a critical hit. The duel is a draw if this happens to both sides simultaneously.

Basic duel etiquette tends to ban firing on an unconscious, fallen, or shut down unit, or using more weaponry than your opponent starts with.

With the arrival of new mechwarriors, mechs, and technology, some duels have been fought using simulator systems, however most purists reject such systems as "unworthy." Increased trade has also brought a trickle of munitions into the system, though they are still sparingly used in dueling, as they're hard to come by and there are no "down powered" options.

The local Mechwarrior Errants have been keeping their machines running for generations with only minimal amounts of hoarded spare parts. As such all of them go into battle with some degree of damage. To simulate this, you should roll three times on the mech damage status table (Strategic Operations Page XX) and apply each result, re-rolling any result that would result in the mech being destroyed, losing its gyro, or more than half of its heatsinks. In addition, ammunition bays are either empty or limited to no more than a quarter of their capacity, depending on the Errant. Errants that have recently traveled to Refuge from the Inner Sphere may not suffer these restrictions at the GM's discretion or by mutual agreement of the players.

In accordance to agreements between Errants and the world's governing Confederation, Errants are obligated to act in the defense of Refuge in the event of foreign attack or in the case of a rogue Errant (one that attacks civilian targets or violates duel protocol). This is just a formalization of traditional custom among Refuge's Errants, and it is rare to see one refuse to comply.

Each city state maintains its own security forces, though these have only recently started receiving even remotely modern weapons. Prior to 3090, these units were composed of foot infantry carrying a mixture of makeshift rifles and bladed weapons. Afterwards, fairly modern (tech C) slugthrowers began arriving onworld, and various city states began organizing Horse and Tariq mounted troops. There are no combat and very few functioning support vehicles on Refuge, and little expectation that this will change for a long time to come.

Characters from Refuge may be generated using the Independent/Generic affiliation with the following modifications: Add the Illiterate (-50xp), Equipped (-100xp), Thick Skinned (+50xp) and Wealth (+100xp) traits. Before 3090, the white collar and nobility stage one modules, the high school, preparatory school, military school, and spacer family stage two modules, all stage three modules, and all stage four modules except tour of duty (periphery) or ne'er do well are prohibited. After 3090, the beginnings of a modern education spring up, allowing access to white collar stage one module, the High School stage two module, the Trade School, military enlistment and family training (mechwarriors only) stage three modules, and removing all prior restrictions on stage four modules.

For purposes of the Equipped trait, characters from Refuge reduce the starting technology limit to B (note that with the starting equipped penalty in the affiliation, this means a character will be limited to tech A equipment unless they purchase additional ranks of the equipped trait). Post 3090, characters using the stage one white collar module increase this technology limit by one without needing to purchase equipped (bringing them in line with other periphery characters).

As a final note, the local currency, used continuously since shortly after the colony's founding, takes the form of coins composed of a Germanium/Titanium alloy from the jump core of the expedition's monolith class jumpship. According to the locals, the jumpship was gradually disassembled and brought down in pieces, with its major structural members and hull sections going to building makeshift housing and other structures. A small portion of the core was used to mint common coinage to try to keep the squabbling settlements together, but the vast majority of it was "buried" in a now unknown location, possibly in one of the numerous underground cave networks. Interstellar Expeditions, as well as everybody else who has dealt with the locals financially knows that this represents a potential fortune if it could be found, but they are trying very hard to keep the locals from figuring it out. A difficult prospect given how much the local currency is valued among the average trader.
« Last Edit: 29 July 2016, 03:58:55 by Liam's Ghost »
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #11 on: 29 July 2016, 01:45:25 »
Wow. I had no idea I had that much to write about this world. And I even forgot to mention that meteorite impacts are so common that on average at least one person a year dies from a meteorite impact event.

The night sky is spectacular.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #12 on: 29 July 2016, 15:28:28 »
Actually, that world sounds like a blast, and Refuge is an appropriate name.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes / When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-- Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Dragon Cat

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #13 on: 29 July 2016, 16:15:47 »
Cats are the highest end of the animal scale  :D
My three main Alternate Timeline with Thanks fan-fiction threads are in the links below. I'm always open to suggestions or additions to be incorporated so if you feel you wish to add something feel free. There's non-canon units, equipment, people, events, erm... Solar Systems spread throughout so please enjoy

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20515.0.html - Part 1

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,52013.0.html - Part 2

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,79196.0.html - Part 3

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #14 on: 02 August 2016, 07:20:29 »
Dutch Harbor
Star Type: K6V
Charge Time: 197 hours
Transit Time: 3.91 days

Position in System: 1st (0.30 AU from primary)
Diameter: 15,500 km
Gravity: 1.09
Day Length: 51 hours
Satellites: 1 (Kraznyy)

Atmospheric Pressure: Standard
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 94%
Equatorial Temperature: 13.85 C
Highest Native Life: Mammals

Population: 42,500,000
Government: Representative Democracy (Loose Confederation)
HPG Class: none
Recharge Stations: Nadir (non-functional)

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: D
Industrial Development: C
Industrial Output: C
Agricultural Dependence: B
Raw Material Dependence: B

Named by one of its founders for the Alaskan town he once called home, Dutch Harbor is a cold, gray, wet world dominated by massive icepacks, vast oceans, and only limited land suitable for settlement. Colonized during the early days of the Star League, Dutch Harbor took on some significance during those days as a waystation for explorers, traders, and settlers heading into the Orion Rift, and ultimately home to many of those same groups who found the Rift to be far from the garden spot they hoped.

With a steady stream of colonists unable to make it on the barren worlds common in the Orion Rift and for whatever reason unable or unwilling to go back to the Inner Sphere, Dutch Harbor prospered, developing a diverse, vibrant, though somewhat quarrelsome culture spread across the many islands of the equatorial region. Because of limited usable land area (the only continental sized land mass lies under the southern ice cap), aquaculture and commercial fishing became the world's dominant industries by necessity, to the point where it is commonly said "every harborman is a fisherman" without a hint of exaggeration.

None of this particularly mattered to the Star League, however. Indeed, as the flow of ships into the Orion Rift began to decrease, Dutch Harbor might have quickly fallen off the collective radar of the Inner Sphere, if not for the stories filtering back of ships disappearing from the system with an alarming regularity. Whether through concrete facts or media hype, these reports were taken seriously enough that the Star League dispatched a WarShip group to Dutch Harbor in the early 27th century to investigate the situation. Suspecting a pirate haven, they instead found a population that didn't even have spacefaring capabilities.

Regardless, the League squadron remained on station, even establishing a recharge station and supply base at the nadir point. Several months of fruitless searches turned up no pirate bases, but did reveal several accounts of missing ships deemed credible by League authorities, as well as the unidentifiable wreckage of a jumpship in a neighboring system, the victim of an apparent severe misjump. Though the League was quick to squash any sensationalist claims about the so called "Dutch Triangle" their efforts were undercut by the disappearance of one of their own WarShips eight months after their investigation had begun. An extensive search of the surrounding area turned up no trace of the vessel, and the League abruptly closed the investigation, pulling out the remaining ships but establishing a scientific research station in their place, which continued to monitor the system and any passing traffic until the Amaris Coup.

The destruction of the Succession Wars left Dutch Harbor essentially isolated from the rest of the universe, aside from trickles of refugees once again heading into the spinward periphery looking for a safe haven. Self sufficient, its people have suffered little from the loss. Heirloom items and technology from the Star League are highly prized, but not essential, and the populace has never found itself wanting for basic necessities such as food, water, or shelter (though living space is becoming increasingly scarce as the population grows).

Dutch Harbor governs itself as a loose Republic, with representatives from each main island chain meeting bi-annually to establish policies for the world as a whole. Animosity between the various islands can at times be considerable, however. Not only does this impair the function of the world's weak central government, but it frequently boils over into bloodshed. It is not uncommon for local fishing vessels, already heavily armored to protect against ice floes and aggressive sea creatures, to be armed as well. Piracy and skirmishes between rival fleets are frequent occurrences, something the badly funded and thin spread Federal Protection Service is ill suited to deal with.

Though largely isolated for generations since the League's fall, recent decades have seen increasing encounters with outside forces, many of them hostile. Starting in 3090, the world was repeatedly raided by a bandit kingdom calling itself the Grand Republic. These attacks culminated in an invasion in 3092, though the invaders battlemechs proved ill suited to the island hoping campaign and were gradually forced offworld despite their technological edge. This disastrous defeat (following on the heals of a failed invasion of the nearby False Dawn system) was enough to bring about the shaky Grand Republic's complete collapse, though remnants of the original bandit kingdom would attack Dutch Harbor several more times up until 3095.

More recently, the mercenary archaeologist organization Manassas Golddiggers, while operating under contract to Interstellar Expeditions, came under attack in the ruins of the old Star League research center. Almost nothing is known about the attackers, save that they operated a half dozen highly advanced, but unfamiliar white painted battlemechs, and they occupied the research center for several hours after driving off the mercenaries, before leaving the world aboard what was apparently a Confederate class dropship. The locals reported no knowledge of the mysterious battlemechs.

Gamemaster's Section

The mystery of the "Dutch Triangle" doesn't exactly haunt the inner sphere to this day. It made news early on entirely due to sensationalizing by the media (who didn't really know or care where Dutch Harbor actually was) and gained a pretty good following when the SLDF moved in to investigate. Interest reached its peak following the disappearance of a WarShip, but tapered off quickly when the public got bored with it. Because of the shear size of the Inner Sphere and the shear volume of topics the public can get engrossed in, it doesn't come up much anymore.

As for its nature? Who knows? The Star League's scientific minds had some reason to believe that there was something about the Dutch Harbor system that was causing an unusually large number of misjumps, and they established the research center in the hopes of broadening their understanding of hyperspace mechanics. Were they right? Who's to say? (You, actually, if you're inclined to use this plot point). There are other possible explanations. Maybe there really were pirates or other sorts of hostiles active in the area that the League couldn't find (space is big and there's a whole lot of systems to hide in). Maybe it was all nothing but a combination of bad luck and hype. Maybe it was aliens, why not?

Dutch Harbor is intensely multicultural (including hosting the largest population of Aleuts in the known universe), but it is not a melting pot. Different island chains were settled by different groups at different times, and with the vast ocean separating them, the only time they see a reason to come together is when someone threatens all of them. They constantly squabble over fishing rights, trade agreements, even over what their world is called (Dutch Harbor is the official name because it was also the first name, but there are a dozen other competing names in eight languages). So yes, things tend to get violent at times. Each island chain has a large fishing fleet (tech B support vehicles in the 500-2000 ton range, almost always with the armored chassis modification and BAR 5 armor), and these vessels are armed as a matter of course (a handful of light, medium, or heavy rifles and machineguns are standard, a few use thumper artillery pieces). Clashes between fleets are generally brief and end before major damage is inflicted. Sinking a trawler or two to make a point is just good business, threatening the economic livelihood of your rival is bad form. Independent vessels are an exception. Those caught fishing in the territory of one of the major fleets are sunk on sight, often with good reason, as piracy (either sponsored by rival chains or purely independent) is rampant.

Off the seas, Dutch Harbor has no standing military and little heavy equipment aside from light vehicles and aircraft (likewise tech level B, equipped with machineguns at best). They do have a few battlemechs recovered more or less intact following the bandit invasion, though they have no trained pilots, nor the material to repair these machines. The populace has no shortage of guns and incendiaries, however. And the tight, confusing mazes that make up the typical settlements are well suited for guerrilla warfare. Also, as was demonstrated during the Grand Republic's invasion, the locals do not scare well, and a foreign invasion is practically the only thing that gets them working together.

The mechs that engaged the Manassas Golddiggers were white painted, equipped with advanced inner sphere technology, and operated in a group of six. They were even using C3i. What could it mean? Honestly, maybe nothing. Maybe all the hints are a red herring to hide their true nature. Or maybe they're exactly what they seem to be. Much like what they were looking for in those ruins, and whether or not they found them, it's a mystery for the GM to use as they see fit.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Takiro

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #15 on: 04 August 2016, 15:35:00 »
Great to see Denizens of the Deep Periphery back. I still have and enjoy the originals which are fantastic!

Natasha Kerensky

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #16 on: 04 August 2016, 20:58:32 »
I still have and enjoy the originals which are fantastic!

They were great.  Are the originals available or re-postable?
"Ah, yes.  The belle dame sans merci.  The sweet young thing who will blast your nuts off.  The kitten with a whip.  That mystique?"
"Slavish adherence to formal ritual is a sign that one has nothing better to think about."
"Variety is the spice of battle."
"I've fought in... what... a hundred battles, a thousand battles?  It could be a million as far as I know.  I've fought for anybody who offered a decent contract and a couple who didn't.  And the universe is not much different after all that.  I could go on fighting for another hundred years and it would still look the same."
"I'm in mourning for my life."
"Those who break faith with the Unity shall go down into darkness."

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #17 on: 04 August 2016, 22:22:30 »
I have the original text files stored on my desktop computer. At least some of them I intend to update and post here (Judea and Refuge being two examples).
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Natasha Kerensky

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #18 on: 06 August 2016, 21:10:21 »
I have the original text files stored on my desktop computer. At least some of them I intend to update and post here (Judea and Refuge being two examples).

Great!  Awesome!  Thank you!
"Ah, yes.  The belle dame sans merci.  The sweet young thing who will blast your nuts off.  The kitten with a whip.  That mystique?"
"Slavish adherence to formal ritual is a sign that one has nothing better to think about."
"Variety is the spice of battle."
"I've fought in... what... a hundred battles, a thousand battles?  It could be a million as far as I know.  I've fought for anybody who offered a decent contract and a couple who didn't.  And the universe is not much different after all that.  I could go on fighting for another hundred years and it would still look the same."
"I'm in mourning for my life."
"Those who break faith with the Unity shall go down into darkness."

RunandFindOut

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #19 on: 16 October 2016, 10:15:26 »
Cats are the highest end of the animal scale  :D
Aren't they always?  At least that's what mine say about it, and that I should ignore the dog when she disagrees.
One does not just walk into Detroit

She ignored the dragon, and Freddy Mercury who arrived to battle it with the Power of Rock.

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #20 on: 23 March 2017, 05:38:15 »
Moana
Star Type: K0V
Charge Time: 191 hours
Transit Time: 5.48 days

Position in System: 4th
Diameter: 14,000 km
Gravity: 1.08
Day Length: 51 hours
Satellites: 2 (Hina and Lona)

Atmospheric Pressure: High
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 93%
Equatorial Temperature: 48 C
Highest Native Life: Mammals

Population: 23,000,000
Government: Socialist Kritarchy
HPG Class: none
Recharge Stations: none

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: C
Industrial Development: D
Industrial Output: D
Agricultural Dependence: B
Raw Material Dependence: A

First surveyed by the Taurian Concordat in the early 26th century, the star system of Harding 937 was quickly ruled out as a possible colony site. The system lay well beyond the existing borders of the Concordat, on the edge of the Perseus Cloud. Though the atmosphere of the sole habitable world was oxygen rich and perfectly breathable (if a bit thick), the planet was dominated by a worldwide ocean with only scattered island chains to settle on, and many of these lay within the intollerably hot equatorial zone. With no profit to be had, the star was catalogued into the Concordat's astronomical logs and promptly forgotten.

Interest in the world was only renewed in the years following the Reunification War, when the Star League Defense Forces, using captured Taurian charts, surveyed this and other nearby systems in search of Taurian renegades. Coming up empty, the SLDF also quickly lost interest in the distant world, though an officer of one of the expedition's ships, Commander Akela Kekoa, was struck by the exotic beauty of the world, so reminicent of the stories of ancient Polynesia of which he was so fond. Upon his return to Terra, his vivid stories of the world captured the imagination of many in his local community, who had long seen their own native Hawaiian culture waste away under the march of globalization and world unity. It wasn't long before adventure seekers began gathering around the idea of saving their ancient culture by migrating to this new world, and within five years, the first colonies were being established on the planet now named Moana (Sea).

Though limited resources and the expense of shipping in supplies from the distant League limited initial colonization efforts, the colonists found a number of advantages that allowed them to thrive. The world teemed with life that the colonists were able to exploit for both food and resources. In addition, their first colony site on the Island of Papa proved rich in heavy elements. Within sixty years, the colony completed its first pressurized heavy water fission reactor, removing the need to rely on the overworked portable generators that had accompanied the first colonists. Within another generation, settlements had been set up on islands all across the northern hemisphere of Moana.

Even so, the locals still live a relatively low technology existence more out of necessity than a desire to reconnect with their ancestors. The only thing resembling industry is limited to the island of Papa, and consists of small workshops drawing power from a collection of relatively small, low output fission reactors. Other settlements either do without power, or get by on a few wind turbines and nuclear thermal batteries constructed on Papa. On these islands, life if relatively simple revolving around the agriculture and aquaculture necessary to sustain the population. Travel between islands is conducted using sail powered sea vessels. Those constructed on Papa will often feature relatively modern composites in their hull construction, integrated power systems, and an auxiliary motor. Those constructed on other islands, on the other hand, are generally fashioned of natural materials, and might at best feature a few small electronic aids powered by a nuclear thermal battery.

Local culture leans heavily on ancient Hawaiian culture and mythology, creating a deceptively primitive appearance. Even so, education, at least to the degree possible with printed books and oral tradition, is considered a responsibility of every settlement. The locals are known for couching events in simultaneously supernatural and scientific terms, such as attributing a volcanic eruption to the anger of a particular spirit or diety, while simultaneously acknowledging the scientific basis for the event. "If you had gas so bad you needed to explode fire, you'd be pretty angry to, eh?" or so it is said.

Mythology also seems to shroud the locals' view of a large portion of their own world. Despite several centuries of habitation, the southern hemisphere of Moana is largely unexplored. The extreme heat common in the equatorial regions, combined with frequent dead calms and little technology to overcome either makes crossing the equator extremely hazardous. Further, local legends claim that the southern hemisphere is inhabited by predatory raiders called Kakamora (curiously a Melanese rather than Hawaiian concept), who sometimes cross the equator to plunder northern islands. There is more than enough physical evidence to confirm the existence of these Kakamora and identify them as a seperate group of humans who settled somewhere in the southern hemisphere, but their origins and history currently remain a mystery. Interstellar Expeditions intends to send an expedition to the southern hemisphere sometime in the next few years to develop a more complete picture of what lies below the equator.

In the centuries since its colonization, Moana has been almost completley isolated from outside contact. Aside from the occasional free trader or pirate raid, neither of which ever turns up much of value, the only regular contact Moana has had with the outside world is a regular trading ship from the nearby world of Foxhaven, who trades a trickle of manufactured goods to the local islands in exchange for Jeweled Crab, a man-sized, highly agressive crustacean analogue highly prized on Foxhaven both for its flavorful meat and the beauty of the gemlike mineral deposits that cover its shell. Because these dangerous, violent creatures have to be kept alive in transit to preserve their meat, and because they are both willing and able to remove limbs, the locals rely on an ingenious and dizzying array of traps and snares to capture them. Even then, deaths and serious injuries during attempts to harvest Jeweled Crab are an all too frequent occurence, to the point where a number of islands have banned the practice.

Interstellar Expeditions' own brief contact with the locals has proven far less disruptive. The locals have proven friendly and welcoming to outsiders, as well as extremely patient and cooperative in providing information about their history and culture. They are happy, even eager, to trade both information and goods for technology and resources, and are especially interested in improved power sources, as the fission reactors and nuclear thermal batteries they so commonly use are both toxic and tied to a limited and increasingly depleted resource.


Gamemaster's Section:

Characters from Moana can be generated using the Independent:Generic affiliation with the following modifications. The only primary language available is Hawaiian, with english available as a secondary language. The Adolescent Warfare, Military School, Spacer Family, and all stage 3 and 4 military modules are prohibited. Those characters who take higher learning modules or gain skills with technology are assumed to have studied at the lone university on the island of Papa.

The Kakamora are a very real thing, the descendents of a prior colonization attempt. Detailing their entire culture is outside the scope of this entry, but for purposes of generating antagonists, they speak an almost unintelligeable dialect of english, have no heavy weapons (only tech level A or B personal weapons, and even those are primarily melee) and operate small boats for their raids (tech A or B support vehicles using steam power). Their primary motivation is the aquisition of food, critical supplies, and technology, and their leaders can be expected to wield a choice piece of tech from prior raids.

Though the society of Moana as a whole tends to have limited technology, the island of Papa can be considered sufficiently developed and sophisticated that no modification to the equipment rules is necessary, though if a player would like to create a character from one of the other islands, the poorly equipped trait would not be amiss.

All manner of heavy combat units, from battle armor to battlemechs, are unheard of on Moana. What modern weapons the locals have are limited to small arms.

Because the initial colonists had the great fortune of quickly uncovering large deposits of radioactive materials, and because cheap solar power production is largely out of their reach, the island of Papa depends heavily on nuclear fission power to meet its energy demands. Byproducts of the fission process have been further utilized to create reasonably portable, long lived power sources able to convert the waste heat generated by the decay of a radioisotope into electrical power. The concept and use of these nuclear thermal batteries (or radioisotope thermoelectric generators) dates back to the mid twentieth century, however, they are all but extinct in the modern inner sphere, in the face of alternatives that provide more power in a more compact form without relying on dangerously toxic radioactive materials.

Below are two examples of Nuclear Thermal Batteries. In this case, the basic design remains the same, the only real difference is the specific fission byproduct used.

Nuclear Thermal Battery (High End)
Availability Codes: C/F-F-F/D
Mass: 60 kg
Cost: 1000
Notes: Generates 6 pph, 200 year lifespan

Nuclear Thermal Battery (Low End)
Availability Codes: C/D-D-D/D
Mass: 60 kg
Cost: 200
Notes: Generates 3 pph, 10 year lifespan

Notes: The vast majority of a nuclear thermal battery is actually the shielding to protect the highly radioactive material inside from being released into the environment. For gameplay purposes, this casing is treated as possessing one point of tactical armor with an armor rating of 5/5/5/5 (A Time of War page 187). Depleting this armor exposes every individual within a one meter radius to a toxin with the following stats:

Ingested/Inhaled/Contact, Strength 2, Duration 1 hour, Lethal, Delayed, Continuous. Treatment requires advanced medical kit or hospital facilities.

Every individual within one meter is considered to have been exposed to another dose for every round they remain within one meter of the broken battery without a fully contained environmental suit. The source itself remains dangerous for a duration equal to twice its effective lifetime.

Further note: Yes, I know real world RTGs don't generate that much juice, and that the risk involved with being exposed to a broken one is more complicated than that. Quiet.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #21 on: 23 March 2017, 05:40:12 »
That one ran longer than I expected. Expect more stuff tomorrow covering (very) basic rules for using sailing ships.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Takiro

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #22 on: 23 March 2017, 07:07:05 »
Very nice write up bud, throughly enjoyable.

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #23 on: 23 March 2017, 10:52:58 »
While on the whole it conjures images of a certain recent Disney animated film, the use of RTGs and the earlier colonists turned raiders conjure up images in my mind of Mark Watney, space pirate. ;D
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Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #24 on: 23 March 2017, 20:16:43 »
Basic Sailing Rules

One of the earliest forms of seaborn propulsion, the use of sailing vessels is still reasonably popular across the Inner Sphere and periphery. While the denizens of the developed worlds of the Inner Sphere and near Periphery almost exclusively use such craft for recreation, on the fringes of human occupied space, the humble sailing ship becomes an attractive or even necessary alternative to scarce powered propulsion systems.

These rules include an expansion to the wind rules found on page 57 of tactical operations. In addition to wind direction (determined as normal), players need to also determine wind strength (and by default the base mobility points), either randomly by rolling one six sided die using the following table or by mutual agreement.

Random Wind Strength Table
1-2: Light Wind (3 base MP)
3-4: Moderate Wind (4 base MP)
5-6: Strong Wind (5 base MP)

Sail based movement is regarded as a separate motive system from any other means of propulsion the sailing vessel may possess, and thus cannot be used in concert with powered movement. The number of movement points available to a sailing vessel depends both on wind strength (as defined above), and direction of travel relative to the direction of the wind. For the sake of authenticity, the following diagram identifies each facing relative to the direction of wind as follows


            Running
              ___
 Broad Reach / ^ \ Broad Reach
Close Hauled \_^_/ Close Hauled
             Luffed


To determine the available mobility points for the round, apply modifiers based on the hex facing of the unit at the start of the turn as follows.

Running (moving directly with the wind): -1 penalty to the base MP.
Broad Reach: MP is unmodified
Close Hauled: -2 penalty to the base MP.
Luffed (heading directly into the wind): The unit effectively has 0 movement points for the round, but may still execute a single facing change at no cost.

This final MP total may be spent as normal for a typical displacement hull water craft regardless of the facing changes made during the turn (a vessel could thus briefly travel directly into the wind as long as it starts its round on a facing that grants it mobility points). All such movement is treated as cruising movement for purposes of attacker movement modifiers.

Because the art of squeezing ever last bit of performance from a sailing craft is inherently more complicated than the operation of a conventional power plant, at the start of each round a sailing crew may attempt a driving skill roll to improve performance. On a success, the vessel gains a number of additional MP for the round equal to their margin of success divided by 3 (up to an additional 2 mobility points). On a failure, however, the vessel loses mobility points at the same rate, which may reduce the vessel's movement all the way to zero if they fail badly enough. If the vessel starts the round Luffed, it still cannot spend any bonus MP to move into another hex, but may spend them on additional facing changes.

The various storm options (page 61 of tactical operations) should not be used without the consent of all parties. If all parties agree, Light and Moderate Gales are treated as heavy wind (as well as imposing the same modifiers described in Tactical Operations. Sailing vessels are treated as WiGEs for purposes of driving/piloting modifiers). Stong Gales and Storms provide the same base MP as Strong Winds, along with the same penalties listed in their entry in Tactical Operations. In addition, at the end of each round in Strong Gale or Storm conditions, the player must role 2d6 for each sail powered vessel under their control. On a role of 12, immediately roll again on the motive system hit table and apply the resulting affect to the sail system. Apply a -2 roll modifier if the vessel is not currently actively using its sails for movement. Remember that any motive damage suffered by the sails is not applied to any other propulsion system the craft may possess.

In combat, damage against a sailing vessel is resolved as a standard displacement hull naval unit, with some considerable modifiers. Sailing vessels, at least the small ones covered by these rules, cannot have a turret. This is instead replaced by the Rigging location, a generic catchall to cover the sails, masts, and riggings that allow the sailing vessel to function. In game terms, this location functions largely like the rotors of a VTOL, with the same resistance to damage and armor limit. In addition, any potential critical hits against the rigging are disregarded. However, any damage that strikes the Rigging automatically requires a roll on the motive system damage table with a +3 modifier. Once again, any motive system damage applied to the sails affects the vessel only when it is using those sails, just as any motive system or critical damage to other locations that affect movement only penalize any conventional propulsion system the vessel may carry. If the vessel has no auxiliary power plant, treat any engine or fuel tank critical hits as crew stunned results.

For construction purposes, sails and rigging are treated as a chassis modification available to any small or medium naval support vehicle (large naval support vehicles are outside of the scope of these rules), and may not be combined with the submersible or hydrofoil modifications. The Sails chassis modification has a minimum tech level of A and applies a X2 modifier to chassis mass.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

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"Variety is the spice of battle."
"I've fought in... what... a hundred battles, a thousand battles?  It could be a million as far as I know.  I've fought for anybody who offered a decent contract and a couple who didn't.  And the universe is not much different after all that.  I could go on fighting for another hundred years and it would still look the same."
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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #26 on: 06 June 2017, 23:53:43 »
Lewiston

Star Type: G4V
Charge Time: 185 hours
Transit Time: 7.96 days

Position in System: 4th
Diameter: 13,000 km
Gravity: 1.1
Day Length: 51 hours
Satellites: 2

Atmospheric Pressure: Standard
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 50%
Equatorial Temperature: 26 C
Highest Native Life: Fish

Population: 75,000,000
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
HPG Class: None
Recharge Stations: None

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: C
Industrial Development: B
Industrial Output: B
Agricultural Dependence: B
Raw Material Dependence: C

The capital of a small collection of settled worlds known as Lewis County, Lewiston can be found rimward of the Canopean ruins roughly equidistant from the world of Skyfog and the Alexandrian Covenant. Lewiston was settled during the last four years of the Canopean campaign of the Reunification War by both citizens and soldiers fleeing the Magistracy in the wake of the fall of Canopus, with Contessa Abigail Lewis of Canopus' Froness Nobility quickly taking a leadership role. Her authority over the world was formalized in 2586 when she declared the world a free County independent from the Magistracy of Canopus and proclaimed herself Countess and ruler. In a blatant maneuver to avoid Star League attention, the notice of the declaration was back dated December 2, 2584, the day before the surrender of Magestrix Crystalla Centrella to Star League forces. Though Star League forces learned of both the colony's existence and its independence on the same day when word reached Canopus, they inexplicably accepted the argument of Crystalla Centrella that the world seceded before the surrender of Canopus, and thus was not actually a world subject to Star League rule. Historians tend to attribute this to the distance and relative unimportance of what was a newborn colony, however persistent rumors maintain that the Magestrix had some sort of leverage to convince Captain General Marion Marik from pursuing the issue.

Though only lightly populated at first, Lewiston prospered in (relative) isolation, quickly establishing a variety of thriving local industries while continuing to import (generally under the table) technology from the Magistracy. By the 28th century the world was prosperous enough to begin exporting finished goods, though these exports took on a distinctly sinister tone in 2755 with an order of one hundred thousand rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition by the Rim Worlds Republic. During the buildup to the Periphery Uprising, Lewiston became a regular contractor for the Secret Army, trading primarily small arms, ammunition, and chemical weapon precursors for both hard currency and advanced machine tools. Lewiston would continue to fill orders for the Rim Worlds Republic for the duration of the Periphery Uprising, though the Star League Navy made delivery difficult to say the least. The revelation that Stephan Amaris had abandoned the Periphery States to their fate led Lewiston to cancel all further dealings with the Rim Worlds, leaving the small state sitting on a huge supply of undelivered arms and munitions that it still has yet to fully dispose of.

While the fall of the Star League was a catastrophe to most the rest of human occupied space, Lewiston experienced explosive growth in those early years, with a steady stream of refugees from what would become the Canopean Ruins fueling expansion in every aspect of the economy, as well as the settlement of four other nearby systems. The influx of more recent Canopean citizens further strengthened ties to the old motherland, with Lewis County long regarding itself as the Magistracy's "Little Brother", always willing to support its parent state. During the Succession Wars this extended beyond simple trade and political support to regular military aid to the Magistracy, including shipments of arms and munition and the use of County troops in times of crisis. From 2900 to 3063, the County contributed a company sized formation of battlemechs, with appropriate support elements, on regular rotation with the Magistracy armed forces. These contingents saw heavy action during the Adurien Campaign, and again against raiders from the Marian Hegemony, before the program was scrapped following the Canopean/Capellan alliance. Though never formally reinstated, the program saw a brief revival when details of the Jihad reached Lewis County, with County troops sent in to aid in the Magistracy's defense. Believing that the lightweight, technology poor county forces would be unable to stand up against the Blakists, these troops were used primarily to free up better equipped Canopean troops, indirectly contributing to the liberation of Canopus (a single lance of County forces, outfitted with modern Capellan and Canopean machines, did participate in the battle for Canopus, where they acquitted themselves well).

Postwar, the County has kept its distance from Canopus due to the later's Capellan ties, concentrating instead on its own internal security and fending off the occasional probe from the Marian Hegemony. Though the Canopean government sees nothing wrong with this, reputedly Chancellor Daoshen Liao of the Capellan Confederation consider the County's continued independence a calculated insult, and he regularly encourages his sister the Canopean Magestrix to bring the "rebel territory back to the fold". Though the bulk of Liao's focus lies elsewhere, it is whispered that it is no coincidence that pirate activity in the region is steadily increasing.

For the rest of the Inner Sphere, the only significance Lewis County holds is as a destination for lostech prospectors, fringe investigators, and certifiable kooks. In many minds, the long rumored "hidden stockpiles" of the Magistracy of Canopus are indelibly linked with Lewis County, and many come to the state looking for hidden caches or evidence left over from the Star League, Rim Worlds Republic, Genecaste, Clan Wolverine, Word of Blake, or whatever secret society they believe might be pulling the strings. Most go home empty handed. Some go home with a few crates (at a significant discount) of the weapons Lewiston once manufactured for Amaris' Secret Army. A few go home with what they regard as genuine evidence of something greater or more sinister, which as a general rule isn't really either.

Lewis County still shows many of its Canopean roots, with a central government clearly derived from the pre League Canopean government. The Count or Countess (presently Count Allain Lewis) rules directly, balanced by the "Crimson Council" of the Baron of each lesser member world, which is able to overrule the Count's edicts by a two thirds vote. There is little in the way of representative government, and only a skeletal judiciary appointed by the Count. The County expresses most of the same cultural traits as the Magistracy, save for perhaps their most prominent. The County is not a matriarchy, and the cultural and legal biases that long favored women in the Magistracy have largely faded away in favor of a more egalitarian society. Also, though the County could be said to share the same lack of inhibition as its mother country, it doesn't have the developed, pervasive pleasure industry of the Magistracy, nor does it see many tourists coming in to seek such entertainments.

Though in general offering a high standard of living with ready access to education, health care, and legal protection for all, the divide between the upper and lower classes is clearly visible, and not just because of the great wealth of the County's hereditary nobility. Though expensive clothes and ornaments are a pretty much universal sign of status, in the County this is taken to an unprecedented extreme. Lower classes are expected to dress in simpler clothing with few to no ornaments and in muted, subdued colors, while the upper class (generally speaking the nobility) are known for their brightly colored, heavily ornamented garb. This even extends to an individual's body. All citizens regardless of class will dye their hair, but among the nobility it is common to grow the hair out to extreme lengths and thread it with a net of carbon fibres (or even surgical grade myomer for the most opulent) to allow it to be formed in otherwise impossible configurations. The "ideal body type" pushed by local culture, which is tall, thin, and largely androgynous, can often lead to considerable cosmetic surgery or even elective implants among members of the wealthy who don't feel they measure up, and eating disorders among the lower class. Since the Jihad, cybernetics have become a new fad, though only the wealthiest among County society can afford to make the trip to the Magistracy necessary to receive implants. Legally, none of these are or can be restricted to a specific class or denied anybody able to pay, however, it is easy to price the lower classes out of having access to the trappings of the upper class, and culturally it is considered vulgar to dress above, or below, one's station. Tatooing or piercings are considered equally vulgar, and as a result are popular among the counter culture.

With such effort put into making an individual's place in life readily visible at a glance, it practically goes without saying that status among the elite of society is a vicious battleground, very often literally. Duels, fought using the Sabers that serve as a standard badge of nobility, are a constant fact of noble life, even among those without military training (A proxy may be hired to stand in for either or both combatants in the case of age, infirmity, or a clear imbalance in skill). Duels are not generally fought to the death, though serious injury is common. This culture is ingrained from birth (Children are taught swordsmanship at a young age and occasionally settle dispute with harmless training weapons or stun weapons), as is the notion that dueling is the exclusive privilege of the nobility. Though non-nobles have engaged in duels with each other as well as nobles, it is legally identified as assault with intent to harm. The same is true for a noble if they challenge a commoner, but not if they accept the challenge of a commoner.

The military is just as subject to the divide between the upper and lower classes, as well as the petty squabbles of the nobility. By convention, mech and aerofighter pilots, as well as all officer positions, are recruited exclusively from the nobility, and the question of status haunts them as well. Because of the truncated rank system (The highest field officer rank in all branches is Captain. Above them are Generals who function primarily as bureaucrats to make sure the military runs smoothly), the military uses a sort of point system called Primacy to determine relative seniority between different officers of the same rank. This painfully complicated system takes into account an individual's time in service, accomplishments, general social standing, adherence to the military code, the prestige of his assignment, and numerous other poorly defined variables to arrive at a specific score that determines a soldier's place in the pecking order. As a concession to military necessity, this Primacy score cannot be changed while a given officer is in the field, and certain branches are considered to have automatic Primacy over others. For example, a mech commander has automatic primacy over an infantry commander, and a ship's captain has primacy over all transported officers. Though enlisted personnel are exclusively commoners subject to the nobility, in battle these troops tend to be highly motivated, as heroism on the battlefield is one of the easiest paths into the nobility.


Gamemaster's Section:

In addition to Lewiston above, Lewis County is composed of the star systems of Randle, Mossyrock, Cinebar, and Harmony. Without going into too much detail, these worlds are primarily agrarian, with little to no industry and populations ranging from a few hundred thousand to a few million, and they function primarily as a source of cheap raw materials for Lewiston.

Interstellar transportation is provided by a small fleet of jumpships and dropships (primarily older reunification war vessels including a single Leviathan and four ancient Liberty class jumpships). Persistent rumors among the lostech and fringe community claims the state possesses a functioning or semi-functioning Athena class cruiser, either hidden away after the Reunification War or Periphery Uprising depending on who you ask. This is considered highly unlikely, and you should use your best judgment.

Lewis County has never shown any particular expansionist militancy, but it has begun probing around the worlds of the Alexandrian Covenant. This is mostly for the sake of exploration, but there have been clashes, and some officers, hoping to make a name for themselves, are advocating a more forceful intervention for "humanitarian reasons". The territory has also been occasionally raided by the Marian Hegemony, and pirate attacks are increasing at a suspicious rate that might be linked to either the Hegemony or the Capellan Confederation's mad Chancellor. Lewis County has attempted the occasional counter raid against the Marians, however their equipment makes them a poor match for the Hegemony on their home ground.

Nominally speaking, Lewis County fields six battlemech regiments, however this is extremely misleading. Lewis County uses an organization of four mech lances, and four lance squadrons (alternately called ranks), with a squadron being the standard field unit. Regiments are purely organizational structures, which can have any number of Squadrons assigned to them. In practice, Lewis County has a bit less than two regiments worth of battlemechs broken up among their six paper regiments. Supplementing these mechs are several regiments worth of light armor, and a large, well armed infantry force. Supporting these is a respectably sized aerospace force. Heavy equipment primarily consists of imports from the Magistracy, with the Wasp, Stinger, and Locust dominating the battlemech forces supported by a small number of Shadow Hawks and Phoenix Hawks. Armor is mostly Scorpion Tanks supplemented by missile carriers. Aerospace stands out through their use of the otherwise extinct MM-1 Dragonfly aerofighter. Advanced technology is almost completely absent, save for a single advanced tech battlemech brought back from the Jihad, and a few choice advanced weapons in the possession of officers of high station.

The chain of command among County military forces can best be described as murky and acrimonious. To simulate this, if two battlemech commanders of the same rank are operating together during the same engagement, or if the seniormost officer of any conventional units in play out ranks the senior most battlemech officer, the entire force suffers a -2 penalty to initiative rolls. As conventional units work together in larger groups more often, this penalty does not apply. Naval forces take the same penalty in any engagement where more than one County dropship or jumpship is in play, though aerofighters may operate together without penalty.

As a humorous added penalty, the long, artificially sculpted hair common among the high nobility presents a unique difficulty among mech and aerofighter pilots of the County military. At the start of a battle, roll 1d6 for every County mech or aerofighter pilot in play. On a result of 1, that pilot takes a -1 penalty to all piloting roll target numbers, due to a poor neurohelmet signal caused by their elaborate hair.

Lewis County once possessed an extensive small arms manufacturing industry that has remained largely idle since the end of the Amaris Coup. The County still possesses considerable stockpiles of infantry weapons and munitions left over from orders placed by Amaris, enough to meet their needs and support brisk export for the foreseeable future. Lewis County's industrial capacity is also much understated. In addition to combat vehicles and spare parts to keep their battlemechs running, the County is able to produce the MM-1 Dragonfly, as well as a trickle of Wasp and Stinger battlemechs.

Characters from Lewis County use the Independent: Generic affiliation without modification. Those who take the nobility module add Blades (+20 xp) to their list of skills and increase the XP cost accordingly. The Nobility module is also a pre-requisite for the University, Military Academy, and Family Trained modules, and when any of these modules are chosen, add the Blades skill to their first skill field (Basic Training for Military Academy and Family Training, whichever field is chosen as your basic field for University). This skill receives the same 30 xp, and counts to the total number of skills in the field for purposes of calculating your skill field XP rebate.

Finally, because of vast stores of small arms and ammunition, all generic personal and support ballistic and missile weapons improve their availability code by one level, and reduce their cost by 25%.

Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

DOC_Agren

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #27 on: 07 June 2017, 22:49:13 »
Question on Lewiston
Do they manufacture like JàrnFòlk high quality firearms?
Are they the hidden suppliers of the Pikes?
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #28 on: 07 June 2017, 22:56:04 »
Question on Lewiston
Do they manufacture like JàrnFòlk high quality firearms?
Are they the hidden suppliers of the Pikes?

They actually don't manufacture any personal firearms at the moment (maybe some custom models?). They already have plenty in storage. They make very nice swords, though, because of the dueling thing. You could probably use the same rules from interstellar players to make high end swords.

As for the Pike? Probably not. They've probably bought some from the Magistracy though.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Denizens of the Deep Periphery: 3130 edition
« Reply #29 on: 14 September 2017, 04:19:47 »
Main Street
Star Type: G2V
Charge Time: 183 hours
Transit Time: 9.12 days

Position in System: 4th
Diameter: 10,000 km
Gravity: 1.06
Day Length: 30 hours
Satellites: 2

Atmospheric Pressure: Standard
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 80%
Equatorial Temperature: 26 C
Highest Native Life: Mammals

Population: 95,000,000
Government: Corporate Plutocracy
HPG Class: B
Recharge Stations: None

USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: B
Industrial Development: A
Industrial Output: B
Agricultural Dependence: C
Raw Material Dependence: B

Though not the capital of the Rim Territories, Main Street (along with its sister world Engadine) is easily the glue that holds it together. Home to 53 percent of the tiny state's population (Engadine hosts another 44 percent) and almost all of its significant industries, Main Street's wealth and influence over the other squabbling worlds of the Territories is the only reason the entire nation hasn't collapsed into infighting and cannibalized itself into complete dissolution.

Though those in power claim that their secession from the Commonwealth was a blow for self determination and justice in the face of the heavy handed actions and general contempt coming from Tharkad, there was precious little altruism behind the secession of Main Street and Engadine and the subsequent formation of the Rim Territories. Supporters of the recently suppressed Inarcs Archonette saw it as an opportunity to escape the Commonwealth's justice and carry on the late Duchess LaRue's fight. Corporate interests on Main Street and Engadine salivated over the wealth of cheap labor and resources on other Rim Territory worlds that could be exploited once outside of Commonwealth labor laws and policies. The "mercenaries" (an even mix of discharged troops and outright pirates, including survivors of the notorious Morrison's Extractors) who were brought in to support their cause did so at the promise of landholds to rule as they saw fit. Even the Lyran Commonwealth, after something of a tense standoff, only bowed to the "will of the people" under pressure from their own corporate industries eager to exploit the resources of the new state.

For visitors to Main Street, however, none of this is readily apparent. The world's only heavily populated continent has all the look and feel of a fairly typical Inner Sphere world. In fact, for the native population, the standard of living has been steadily rising since their secession from the Lyran Commonwealth, a fact that, combined with an endless parade of carefully crafted propaganda, has gradually won over the initially hesitant general population to accept their corporate overlords.

The facade begins to crumble outside the cities, in the industrial districts tucked out of the way in the otherwise unpopulated wilderness. Here, an imigrant population (estimated at three million based on orbital observation. The local government does not discuss it) is tasked with operating the industries that not only supply the needs of the native population, but fuels brisk trade with both the Lyran Commonwealth and the the leaders of the other Rim Territories. These immigrants work punishing schedules for little pay, and most if not all are in debt to the planetary government for their food, lodging, health care, and immigration costs. Perhaps worst of all, most of the immigrants who come to Main Street find this preferable to the lives they leave behind. Though they are ruthlessly exploited, the laws of Main Street (as well as Engadine) still provide some measure of protection to the immigrant population. The rest of the worlds of the Rim Territories have no such comfort. Though they at times attempt to present an air of legitimacy, most of the worlds of the Rim Territories are little different from the bandit kingdoms of old, the cruelty of their leaders only matched by their contempt for each other and their financial entanglement with the Corporate rulers of Main Street and Engadine. The loosely defined council of Bandits that "governs" the territories is constantly at odds with itself, and clashes between the various bandit lords are a regular occurrence. Though Main Street (and to a lesser extent Engadine) are known to encourage such infighting to prevent the rise of a single powerful leader, their leadership is also quick to moderate these conflicts to prevent the complete collapse of the Territories. Time will tell how long this and the various other balancing acts that hold the Territories together can continue.


Gamemaster Section:

If they're not going to give me a writeup of the Rim Territories, I'll just have to write my own.

The Government of Main Street (as well as Engadine, which in this sense should be considered Main Street with fewer factories) does an excellent impression of a Benevolent Autocracy. Native citizens enjoy clean cities, free health care, short working hours, and plentiful cheap consumer goods to spend their money on, and the government controlled media machine endeavors to leave them nothing else to worry their little heads about. Their standard of living is roughly comparable to an average Inner Sphere world. Instead of using the guidelines first presented in Field Manual 3085, characters from Main Street or Engadine may be generated using the Lyran Alliance/Coventry affiliation found in A Time of War (pg 56).

The Immigrant community (those from other Rim Territories Worlds) doesn't get anything for free. Though they have ready access to food, shelter and medical care, everything gets added to the debt they owe simply for immigrating. The Immigrant population is kept separate from the native population by both distance and travel restrictions, and any word of their generally lower standard of living (roughly equivalent to 1950s terra) that leaks back to the general population is ably spun by local media as exaggerations ("entitled children who've forgotten what it means to actually earn a living") or outright falsehoods. The truth is slowly leaking out, though those outraged enough to take action are still few in numbers, and the Immigrant community itself is hesitant to rock the boat. Imigrants may be generated using the Independent/Generic affiliation, but are prohibited from taking the university, military academy, or family training modules.

In addition to consumer goods, the factories of Main Street produces small arms as well as local variants of the Marsden II battle tank, Hipparch cavalry tank, and the Ram APC (the progenitor of the Ignis). The Rim Worlds Republic origin of the last two vehicles is generally downplayed, though an increasing segment of the population is beginning to embrace such symbols of the old Rim Worlds, an inadvertent side affect of the "Periphery Nationalism" regularly pushed by the State Controlled Media. This production allows Main Street and Engadine to each field a well armed and trained militia numbering two battalions of armor and several battalions of infantry. Other worlds in the Territories can muster a company or two of armor, as well as an irregular amount of poorly trained conscripts to maintain order.

The remaining worlds of the Rim Territories are lightly populated with little to no industrial development. Each is dominated by a bandit lord, with a contingent of battlemechs (usually no more than a company) at their command. The largest, a short battalion in numbers, occupies the Territories' de-facto Capital of Pain and plays host to the meetings of representatives from each world that endeavor to govern the Territories. As stated above, each Lord rules his world by fiat, with the only check on his power being his ability to control his own population and stave off the greed of his fellow lords. All of these lords are financially entangled with the leaders of Main Street and Engadine, as well as dependent on them for manufactured goods and military supply. Even so, the Leaders of Main Street and Engadine have a real, justified fear of a single powerful Bandit Lord taking power and possibly claiming control of their worlds, thus they work behind the scenes to keep the other Lords at each other's throats.

Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!