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Special thanks: Karl Bluemel, Aric Clark, Marjorie Clayman, Meredith Dreshar, Josh Dunham, Kiery
Franklin, Cara Gee, am !a"ler, Dale !orstman, Aaron !ouse, K# Adam Kunst, Mike McGrath, Dan
$%Connor, Brian Sites, aul &ise ###################################################################################################################'
$(): *(+$D-C+*$( #################################################################################################################################### '
1.0 Parsec in Brief .................................................................................................................................................. 6
1.1 Science-Fiction .............................................................................................................................................. 6
1.2 Roleplaying ............................................................................................................................................... .... 7
1.3 Gae ...................................................................................................................................................... ...... !
1." #$at %oes &e't ........................................................................................................................................... . !
+&$: S)++*(G ############################################################################################################################################## .
2.0 %$apter (ntro)*ction ........................................................................................................................................ +2.1 Setting ............................................................................................................................................................. +
2.2 ,istory ........................................................................................................................................................... 10Socio-Economic Collapse ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ...... 10
Corporate Consolidation ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ........... ..... ..... .. 10
Reconstruction ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... ... 11
Invention ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ..... 12
The Rise of the World Leaue ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ...... ..... ..... ... 12
! "e# !e of E$ploration ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... ..... ...... ..... 1%
Timeline ............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .............. ..... ..... ...... ... 1%
2.3 *t$ority ....................................................................................................................................................... 1World &overnment ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ..... ..... ..... 1'
World &overnment (actions ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ........ ...... .... 1'"ations ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ..... 1)
"ational (actions .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............. ...... ..... ..... ..... 1)
"eo-(eudal Corporations .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ..... ..... 1)
*o#erful Corporations ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... ..... . 1+
Crime S,ndicates .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ...... 1+
Reliion ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..... ..... ...... .. 1
Lanuae ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ..... 1
Insiders and /utsiders ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .......... 20
2." /ec$nology .................................................................................................................................................... 20"euroscience .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... ...... 21
Ener, .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... . 21
(TL ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... . 22
Communication ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... 22
Intellient Soft#are .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............. .. 2%
Space !daptation ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... .... 2%
Rootics ............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ...... ..... ..... .. 2
&enetics ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ...... ..... ..... 2
od, 3odification .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............ ..... 2'
Entertainment ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ...... . 2'
!rcoloies ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ..... ..... ..... .... 2)
Warfare ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .......... ..... .. 2)
2. ife on art$ ................................................................................................................................................... 27Transportation ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... ...... ..... ... 2+
Spra#l .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
iodiversit, ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... ..... . 2
&arae ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ... 2
/verstimulation ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ..... ...... ..... ... %0
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2.6 Space ............................................................................................................................................................. 30Liftoff ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............. ...... ..... ..... ..... . %0
Space Stations ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... ..... %0
Colonies .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ ..... ...... ..... ..... %1
The Solar S,stem ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... .. %1
The 4niverse ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... .... %
2.7 anger .......................................................................................................................................................... 3"&overnment Securit, (orces .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ..... .. %'
Corporate Securit, (orces .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ...... ... %'
/rani5ed Crime .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... %)
*irates and *rivateers .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ........... ..... ..... ..... . %+
(reedom (ihters and Insurents .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ......... . %+
Surveillance .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ .... %
2.! o*r 4ni5erse ................................................................................................................................................. 3+
+!)): C!AAC+) #################################################################################################################################### /.
3.0 *ic %$aracter %reation ................................................................................................................................ 3+
3.1 Story .............................................................................................................................................................. "0
3.2 %$aracter %reation ......................................................................................................................................... "0irth ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ...... ..... .... 0
Education ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ...... ..... ..... 1
Wor6 .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........ ..... ...... .... 2
*assion ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ... 2
Templates .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... ... %
Sample Characters ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............ ..... ..... ...... ..
Last "ote on Character Creation ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... )
3.3 ttri8*tes ....................................................................................................................................................... "7
3." Sills ...................................................................................................................................................... ........ "!S6ill Levels ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... ...
S6ills and !ttriutes ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... .. S6ill 7escriptions .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... .
4sin S6ills .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... ..... ... )1
Complications and Tr,in !ain ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ...... ...... . )2
3. /raits .............................................................................................................................................................. 623odifications .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ... )%
Speciali5ations .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ )%
E8uipment ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............ . )'
!rmor ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... .. )
Relationships ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ ... )
3.6 Scars ......................................................................................................................................... ..................... 70*h,sical Scars .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... .... +0
*s,choloical Scars ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ... +1
3.7 Stat*s ............................................................................................................................................................. 72
3.! S$ip8*il)ing ................................................................................................................................................... 73&ettin /n a Ship ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... ...... ...... +%
The Cost of Shipoard Life .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..... ..... ...... .... +%
Ship !ttriutes ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... ...... ..... ... +
Ship 7esins ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ..... ..... ... +'
uild ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............. ...... .... +'
Si5e .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... ... +'
Class ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... . +)
Ship Weaponr, ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ....... . ++
4prade ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............. ...... ..... ..... .. +
Retrofit ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... +Retrofit T,pes ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ +
Ship Components ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... .... 0
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F$-: S0S+)M ############################################################################################################################################ 12
".1 ice in Re5ie9 ............................................................................................................................................... . !2*reparation 7ice ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ..... ..... ..... ..... %
".2 /$e Str*ct*re of %onflict ................................................................................................................................. !3/rient .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... ..
!ct ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ... Resolve .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .....
The Initiative .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... .....
".3 P$ysical %onflict ............................................................................................................................................ !69uic6 Comat .............................................................................................................................................................................. )
!stract Comat ......................................................................................................................................................................... +
3aneuver and !ct ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... .............. .... +
Lon 3aneuver .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... .
Lon !ction ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............ ..... ...... .....
Without the Initiative: 3aneuver or !ct ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .............. ..... ..... ...
Close Comat ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ...... ..... .
Raned Comat ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... 1
"ormal Weapon Ranes , T,pe ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ..... ... 1
E$plosives .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............ ... %!rmor ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... ..
Cover .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ..... .. '
Evasion ........................................................................................................................................................................................ '
(ear ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............ ..... ..... . '
*ain and In;ur, .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... .... )
7eath .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... ..... ..... ..... . +
Recover, .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ...... ..... ..... .. +
Spaceship Comat ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ....
7eterminin Rane ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .......... ..... ...... ...... ..
Shootin .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... 101
Evasion .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .......... ..... .. 101
ou ein ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............. ... 11+
The (irst Time >ou Sit 7o#n .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... . 11
&roup Template .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ... 11
Espionae Team ............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ......... ..... ..... 11*irate or *rivateer Cre# .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .............. ..... .. 11
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Insurents ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ...... ...... ..... 120
Investiators ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ........ 120
Soldiers?Securit, (orces ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... .... 120
4ran Trie or 3ilitia .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ....... ... 120
Corporate Suits ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... ..... .... 121
Space E$plorers .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ...... ... 121
@ariale: (ish /ut of Water .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ ..... 121
Conflict et#een *Cs ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ..... ..... ..... .. 122
.1 Story ........................................................................................................................................................... 122Character-7rivenA *lot-7rivenA ThematicA or Sando$ &ames ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ...... ... 122
=eroesA @illains or !ntiheroes ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ..... ...... 12%
3icroA 3acro or Cosmic in Scale .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ..... ..... . 12
=eav, Science or Science on the Side ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... ... 12'
.2 )5ersity ..................................................................................................................................................... 12Recover, .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ ..... ...... ..... .. 12'
.3 Setting ....................................................................................................................................... .................. 126Slums and arrens ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. .. 12)
Cit, Core and (rine .............. ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ...... ..... . 12)
!rcoloies ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ........ ...... ...... ..... .. 12)Space Stations ............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ..... .... 12)
Colonies .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ...... .... 12+
Ships and Shipoard Life ............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ......... ...... ..... . 12+
"eo-(eudal Corporations .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ......... ...... .... 12+
Risin World &overnment .............. ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ..... .. 12
Rehailitated "ational &overnments ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... .......... ..... . 12
." %olla8oration ............................................................................................................................. .................. 12!Wor6 #ith the *la,ers .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...... .... 12
Wor6 #ith the 7irector .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ......... ..... ..... .... 12
Wor6 With Each /ther .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ .......... ..... ..... ... 12
Consensus ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. ..... ..... .... 12
. #inging (t ..................................................................................................................................................... 12+"*C 7ice-pools ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............. ...... 12
Causin *rolems in the CharacterBs Lives .............. ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ........... ..... ..... ... 1%0
&oalsA /staclesA SecretsA *assionsA RelationshipsA Scars ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ ..... ... 1%0
S*6: )S$-C)S and )F))(C) ###############################################################################################################4/7
6.1 &on-Player %$aracters of &ote ..................................................................................................................... 130=ans aeder ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ..... .... 1%0
Insala 3aBharim .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. ..... ...... ..... .... 1%2
Tuc6er 3ac6D Elro, .............. ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............ . 1%%
Sere
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Eas, Cit, ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ........ ...... 1'
Casalanca ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ........... ..... ..... .... 1)
Station '1 ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ....... ..... 1)
The Reliious Schisms ............... ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ................ ............... ..... ...... ..... ..... .. 1+
6." S*8itting :aterial for t$e Setting ........................................................................................... ...... ............. 1"+
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Special thanks:Karl Bluemel, Aric Clark,
Marjorie Clayman, Meredith Dreshar,
osh Dunham, Kiery !ranklin, Cara "ee,
#am $a%ler, Dale $orstman, Aaron
$ouse, K& Adam Kunst, Mike Mc"rath,Dan '(Connor, Brian )ites, #aul *ise
(&/R *ho are e? *hy are e here?
*hat does it mean to e human? *hat are our
social, technolo%ical, co%nitie and s+iritual
limits?
)ome science/iction stories adhere to knon
science more ri%orously than others& ;n #arsec,
e try to stick close to hat e think ill e
+ossile& *e run a risk, o/ course, o/
emarrassin% ourseles y sayin% that
somethin% ha++ens 1-- years /rom no hen
it may ha++en tomorro& 0hat(s hy science
/iction stories like The Time MachineorJourney to the Center of the Earthremain
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interestin% no, ecause e can see hat
+eo+le 1-- years a%o thou%ht our orld ould
e like& o dout, e(re no more accurate&
0he only intentional scienti/ic cheat is the
Baeder Drie, hich is a /asterthanli%ht
en%ine that can carry s+aceshi+s across astdistances ery 9uickly& *e intentionally don(t
e+lain eactly ho those ork 7yet8&
'therise, e think hat e talk aout is
+lausile&
;n #arsec, ecause e try to stick to hard
science, the orld e de+ict intentionally
ea%%erates some o/ the thin%s in our on
orld and time that e think are interestin%&
$uman ein%s hae journeyed into s+ace and
are uildin% lon%term homes outside o/ the.arth /or the /irst time& 0he Baeder Dries are
o+enin% u+ e+loration o/ the solar system and
o/ distant stars and +lanets as ell& Back on
.arth, there is a %reat deal o/ con/lict as
human ein%s are asically s+lit into to
%rou+s, the ;nsiders ho hae eerythin% and
the 'utsiders ho hae almost nothin%&
4#2 9oleplayin";
As the descri+tion su%%ests, in #arsec the
+eo+le +layin% the %ame take on roles > you
+ortray characters that you ima%ine and create
and then connect them to%ether in a story you
tell as you %o& Most o/ the +layers hae one
character that they /ocus on, like an actor in a
+lay ho only +ortrays one character, ut one
o/ the +layers needs to e the Director, ho
doesn(t +ortray any s+eci/ic character& 0he
Director %uides the %ame and +ortrays the
characters that you meet oer the course o/ the
story& 0he Director is also in char%e o/decidin% ho to im+lement the rules /airly, so
he must e /amiliar ith ho #arsec orks&
*hen you are a +layer in #arsec, you should
hae to thin%s on your mind at the same
time& 0he /irst is What would my
character do?Enlike in a +lay, there is no
scri+t( in #arsec& Four character can try to do
anythin% you can think u+& 0he ay you
decide hat your character ill try in any
%ien situation is y ima%inin% them as an
inde+endent +erson and ima%inin% hat they
ould do, ho they ould res+ond to a %ien
situation& Fou also need to kee+ in mind hat
your character cando& Four character has
+articular skills and ailities and relationshi+s
that make u+ ho she is, just like any +erson
does > so she isn(t %oin% to e %ood at
eerythin%, and some thin%s ill eim+ossile& Four character is still human
7+roaly8, a/ter all&
0he second thin% /or a role+layer to kee+ in
mind is What would be interesting or fun
in this situation? As e already said, your
character can try anythin%, ut rememer that
you are still orkin% ith the other +layers to
come u+ ith an interestin% story that ill e
/un to +lay out ith the hel+ o/ the Director&
ust ecause your character can try anythin%,hoeer, doesn(t mean the sheshouldtry
hateer comes to mind& '/ all the o+tions
you hae /or your character in a %ien
situation, choose the one that adds to the /un
/or the hole tale heneer you can&
*hen you are the Director in #arsec, your jo
oils don to to asic 9uestions& 0he /irst is
What happens next?0he +layers are
res+onsile /or makin% u+ their on minds,
ut you as the Director are in char%e o/ ho
the orld res+onds to the +layercharacters(
actions& Are they no in troule ith the la?
$ae they made an enemy ho ill come
a/ter them? 'r hae they /ound an ally ho
ill hel+ them in the /uture? *hat are their
o++onents thinkin% and doin% hile they +lan
their net moe?
0he second 9uestion to kee+ in mind as a
Director is How can complicate this in an
interesting way?A story ithout con/lict
and adersity isn(t ery interestin%& Fou don(tant to crush the +layers and /rustrate them all
the time, ut they ill hae more /un i/ their
characters hae to /i%ht to reach their %oals&
;/ this seems like a lot to kee+ track o/, don(t
orry& #arsec has a lot o/ thin%s that hel+ you
/i%ure out hat your character mi%ht do in a
%ien situation, hat kinds o/ choices ould
e most interestin%, hat ha++ens net, and
ho to com+licate the characters( lies in
interestin% ays, and once you are /amiliar
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ith the %ame, eerythin% %ets easier, so don(t
orry&
4#/ 9Game;
#arsec isn(t just a ay o/ +layin% the roles o/characters in a story to%ether, it is also a %ame&
;t has rules and systems and ays to resole
9uestions just like any other %ame& ;t is an
interestin% kind o/ %ame ecause it isn(t like
Mono+oly or Hisk here one +erson ins and
eeryone else loses& ;n #arsec 7like all other
role+layin% %ames8, either eeryone ins or
eeryone loses& .eryone ins hen the story
moes /orard, hen eeryone is hain% /un,
and hen your characters deelo+ in
interestin% ays& .eryone loses hen theaction o%s don, hen the story sto+s
makin% sense, or hen only a /e o/ the
+eo+le at the tale are hain% /un&
'ne ay that #arsec is a %ame is that it injects
some randomness into hat you descrie your
characters tryin% to accom+lish& 'therise,
there ould e a lot /eer sur+rises& ust like
in real li/e, sometimes hen you try
somethin%, you /ail > it isn(t alays your /ault,
ut somethin% ha++ens to %et in your ay&
#arsec uses dice to decide hen this ha++ens,
so that there(s alays a chance that the +layers
ill e sur+rised at hat ha++ens&
#arsec is also a %ame ecause it has s+eci/ic
rules, and there are multi+le ays to use these
rules to accom+lish hat you ant& #art o/
#arsec is +layin% ith the %ame itsel/,
mani+ulatin% the rules that you /ind in this
ook to maimie the /un&
;n #arsec, all o/ the rules oil don todecidin% hen to roll dice& Fou roll 6sided
dice and the numers that come u+ on the dice
hel+ tell you hat ha++ens& 0he ay you
decide ho many dice to roll is a comination
o/ /actors > hat your character is %ood at and
the situation that your character is in& 0he
+layers control hat their characters are %ood
at and the Director controls hat the situation
is like& A skilled character in a %ood situation
ill roll more dice than an unskilled character
in un/aorale conditions& Maye the +oor/ello on(t een e alloed to roll any dice&
As e(e said, some thin%s are sim+ly
im+ossile&
*hat numers you look /or on the dice hen
you roll them is also determined y hat your
character is %ood at& *hen you roll the dice,
you count successes, dice that sho
numers that are e9ual to or hi%her than the
tar%et numer& *ith a tar%et numer o/ 6,
only 6(s on the dice count as successes& 0he
more successes rolled, the etter the result /or
the character& Fou ant lots o/ successes=
*ith a tar%et numer o/ 4, 4(s, 5(s and 6(s all
count as successes& )o you can already see that
ith 6 dice, /or eam+le, a tar%et numer o/ 4
is muchetter than a tar%et numer o/ 6 > it
means the di//erence eteen aera%in% 1success and 3 successes= ;n #arsec, all tar%et
numers are eteen 2 and 6, and tar%et
numers are alwaysdetermined y a
character(s )kills 7those are discussed in
Section 3.38&
4#< &hat Comes (e=t
;n !hapter "e discuss ho to create or
ada+t a orld /or your %ame to take +lace in&
0he %rou+ o/ +layers does this to%ether& *hen
you decide here your %ame ill take +lace,
you are also decidin% the kinds o/ +rolems
and o++ortunities that come u+ durin% the
story you are creatin%& ;/ you don(t ant to
create or ada+t your on settin% /or your
story, there is in/ormation on a settin% that
anyone can use /or #arsec, ith its on
history and +resent situation already orked
out /or you& ;/ you do create your on
settin%s, there ill e a chance /or them to e
incor+orated into the o//icial( #arsec orld&;n !hapter #, e discuss ho +layers create
characters& *ith these rules, you can create
any kind o/ +erson ho mi%ht eist in the
#arsec settin% as it is descried, or ada+t a
character to your on settin% i/ that is hat
you +re/er& Character creation accounts /or
eerythin% aout your character u+ to the +oint
here your +articular story e%ins& Iike the
settin% elements you create, your characters
also hae a chance to ecome +art o/ the
#arsec canon(&&
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;n !hapter $, e e+lain the rules that %uide
a %ame o/ #arsec& 0his includes the rules /or
resolin% con/licts characters ill %et
themseles into, hether they are con/licts
oer social standin%, in/ormation, or li/eand
death stru%%les& 0here is also a section /orattles eteen shi+s in s+ace hether they
are small one+erson /i%hters or lar%er military
essels& All o/ these rules are desi%ned to
resole these con/licts 9uickly so that the
%ame(s action remains /ast and ecitin%& 0he
cha+ter also e+lains ho characters chan%e
and im+roe oer time&
!hapter %contains adice /or +lay& 0his is the
cha+ter here e +ut more in/ormation that
you(ll ant to hae to run a #arsec %ame ithyour /riends, ith lots o/ ti+s and +ointers that
ill make your %ame run more smoothly and
your stories een etter&
!hapter &is dedicated to resources /or
#arsec, includin% more detailed in/ormation
on the #arsec settin% hich can e ada+ted as
you see /it /or your on settin%& 0hese
include names and in/ormation on +oer/ul
indiiduals, cor+orations, and %oernment
a%encies, all o/ hich can e thron in to an
adenture /or additional une+ected
com+lications. This chapter also lets you
know how the setting elements and characters
you create can become part of the official
published setting&
;/ you miss somethin% in these cha+ters, don(t
orry& 0here is a cha+ter summary at the end
o/ each that %oes oer the main +oints o/ each
section, remindin% you here to /ind the
im+ortant in/ormation /rom that cha+ter&
/# S//(&G
)idear All o/ this is intended /or a %rou+
antin% to run a lon%term #arsec %ame& ;/
you are only intendin% to run a short %ame or
een a oneshot, ski+ to the Cha+ter )ummary
at the end o/ this cha+ter /or an oerie o/
hat you need to do to de/ine your settin% and
situation, and then moe on to character
creation&
2#7 Chapter *ntroduction
;n this cha+ter, e talk aout creatin% a settin%
and a situation /or your #arsec %ame& Fou(ll
also learn aout the history o/ the de/ault
settin% and some o/ the major in/luences on it&*e then talk aout the kinds o/ technolo%y
you mi%ht see in a #arsec %ame, and then
some more s+eci/ics aout the +laces your
characters mi%ht see durin% the course o/ your
story& !inally, there are some eam+les o/
s+eci/ic threats characters mi%ht /ace in a
#arsec %ame to hel+ s+ark ideas /or your
adentures&
2#4 Settin"
Be/ore you e%in creatin% characters /or a
#arsec %ame, you need to kno some thin%s
aout the orld they inhait& ;n #arsec a
settin% is +roided, hich ill e e+anded
u+on in /uture su++lements, ut you can
alays use the %ame system to uild your on
settin%, re/lectin% your ersion o/ .arth(s
/uture&
)ettin% includes a %reat deal > not only the
+resent( o/ the %ame, ut also the +ast& ;t
includes all o/ the in/luences that may a//ectthe characters, as ell as the orld they
inhait& $o you uild u+ your settin% ill
determine hat kinds o/ themes your %ame
inoles, as ell as here your characters can
e+lore durin% the course o/ the %ame&
0he est ay to uild u+ your settin% is to
dele into its +ast > hich is essentially
eerythin% im+ortant that ha++ened /rom the
+resent( in hich this %ame is ein% ritten
7the start o/ the 21stcentury8, to the +resent(o/ the %ameorld oer 2-- years later& '/
course, you don(t hae to s+ell eerythin% out,
ut hat you do choose to mention hel+s
sha+e the settin%& !or eam+le, i/ you mention
a lot aout major ars in your settin%(s
history, you are +roaly settin% u+ a %ame
that ill inole a lot o/ comat, or ill e the
story o/ soldiers /i%htin% in /uture military
skirmishes& ;/, on the other hand, you descrie
a history o/ con/licts eteen arious +olitical
and economic +oers, each maneuerin%ehind the thrones and +odiums to seie
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in/luence and retain it, you are settin% u+ a
%ame that ill +roaly inole a lot o/
intri%ue&
2#2 !istory
0o make thin%s a little easier, e(ll +roide
the tem+late that is ein% used to deelo+ the
de/ault #arsec settin%& 0here are si sta%es
uildin% u+ to the %ame(s +resent( )ocio
.conomic Colla+se, Cor+orate Consolidation,
Heconstruction, ;nention, 0he *orld Iea%ue,
and the e A%e o/ .+loration& 0hese sta%es
descrie major times o/ chan%e or turnin%
+oints in the #arsec settin%: /eel /ree to use
them or use your on& !olloin% is a more
detailed treatment o/ each sta%e o/deelo+ment& !eel /ree to use it all and sae
yoursel/ some ork, or modi/y it in any 7and
eery8 ay to make your %ame s+eci/ic to
your tastes&As always do whate!er is needed
to make sure e!eryone has fun.
Socio-conoic %ollapse
"#o one thought it could happen. $n the end it was a
marriage made in %ell a conspiracy of Jewish and
Muslim terrorists to bring down western ci!ili&ation
and bring about the end of the world. #o one thought itcould happen not until the nuke went off somewhere
under Saudi Arabia. Eighty percent of the world's
remaining oil supply burned away in seconds. #o
nation no one escaped the after(effects. )!ernight
trillions of dollars !apori&ed. *ithin weeks and months
the weather changed as the smoke that had once been
the world's fuel enclosed the world in black clouds for
days without end. *ithout fuel no one could har!est
crops and with little sun there wasn't enough food to
go around.
Ci!ili&ation pro!ed a thin !eneer. Emergency
go!ernments sei&ed power e!erywhere. $t was no longer
the age of democracies but a return to the rule of the
+ungle(( he who has the most guns makes the rules and
e!eryone has guns. The terrorists got what they wanted
a world collapse bigger than anything in written
history. $ hope they're happy. $'d wish they'd go rot in
%ell, instead they brought %ell to e!eryone else.-((
Taralla rancis /0eflections on the Collapse1 )ne
*oman's 2iary'
#arsec +resumes a %loal economic colla+se
simultaneously ith a orld enironmental
crisis eyond the means o/ any %oernment to
co+e ith the tin dilemmas& ;neitaly, henresources %ro scarce, +eo+le 7and
%oernments8 +anic, and /i%htin% reaks out
/or any numer o/ reasons
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cor+oration& )chools ere uilt, ut they ere
technical schools aimed at trainin% children to
ork in the ur%eonin% economy&
As time marched on, cor+orate +oers uilt
+riate security /orces, armies in all ut name,
hich they em+loyed a%ainst each other and in
de/ense o/ their resource and +roduction
mono+olies& )loly, a ne kind o/ order %re
in the orld& ;/ anythin% remained o/ national
and international %oernments, it as esti%ial
only& 0hey ecame, /or a time, a /ootnote o/
the ne histories ein% com+osed&
"The elimination of go!ernments will pro!e to be a
godsend for e!eryone. o!ernments are nothing more
than leeches on economies and prosperity ta4ing
e!eryone to pro!ide benefits that would be better
pro!ided by corporations with a !ested interest in
success at minimal cost. The in!isible hand of
economics work and should continue to do so. $t is in
the best interests of our corporation to continue
rehabilitation of the local agriculture and a5uaculture
as well as the recycling of resources to minimi&e the
necessity of dependence on other corporations
especially those seeking a competiti!e ad!antage within
the 66CC sphere of influence.- ((*hite 7aper
6acamas 6iability(0eco!ery and Credit Corporation
Reconstr*ction
;n/rastructure as reuilt and im+roed u+on&
Cor+orations claimed territories that had een
aandoned or +urchased the land in shady
deals no di//erent than .uro+eans uyin%
Ion% ;sland hundreds o/ years earlier /rom the
;ndians& 0hey de/ended their interests a%ainst
all comers creatin% a tenuous alance o/
+oer, o/ten marred y short, iolent con/licts
and constant industrial es+iona%e and
saota%e&
0he system that emer%ed as knon as eo!eudalism& At the to+, oards o/ directors o/
arious cor+orations made the i% decisions&
Beneath them ere +ro%ressiely diminishin%
leels o/ authority /unctionin% like medieal
noility > serin% the Kin% as needed, ut ith
almost total sayso oer their on daytoday
a//airs& 0hese mana%ers each mana%ed some
as+ect o/ a cor+oration(s o+erations, and each
o/ them, in turn, em+loyed their on +eo+le&
.+ansion occurred throu%h /ranchisin% as
ne markets and ne o++ortunities o+ened
7hether or%anically or throu%h military
action8&
.ach cor+oration(s territory ore the distinct
marks o/ that cor+oration and ho it did
usiness, as ell as it(s on distinct style o/
+erasie randin%& ;n/ormation as
encry+ted di//erently in each, and each had its
on +riate armies& .ach com+any /unctioned
like it(s on totalitarian state, e+andin% y
ay o/ /ranchise into ne territories&
.missaries ould e sent to ne%otiate
economic relations, and hen talks /ailed,
small ars 7the rush/ire ars o/ a +reious
century8 o/ten roke out eteen cor+orations
yin% /or the same resource or market&
All the hile, ne technolo%ies eredeelo+ed as human culture reinented itsel/&
0he most si%ni/icant deelo+ment durin%
Heconstruction as the inention o/ /usion
+oer and the /irst e//orts at lar%escale
s+ace/li%ht and e+loration& !usion technolo%y
+roided aundant ener%y, sur+assin% hat
as aailale /rom /ossil /uels at any time in
history: it as the /irst time there as more
+oer aailale than needed y man and his
industries& 0he limitin% /actor as that the rare
elements re9uired /or /usion technolo%y
eren(t aailale in lar%e 9uantities on .arth:
instead, they ere aailale in 9uantity only in
+laces like the sur/ace o/ Mars or the
atmos+here o/ the %as %iants u+iter and
)aturn& !usion +oer +ro+elled humanity out
into s+ace once a%ain, and ne colonies ere
estalished to %ather and re/ine these rare
elements necessary /or adanced technolo%ies&
)olar technolo%y deelo+ed to re+lace the
colla+se o/ the /ossil /uel economy andau%ments /usion reactors, hich remain
di//icult to uild and maintain&
"8ou know $ don't buy that the corporations are in
control. $'!e done some research on 9: thand ; *hy is there no information about
membership in the ?a!arian $llumination> 8ou knowwhy> ?ecause they don't want you to know.-((Crunk
2obson Economic Millennialist
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Meanhile, millions /locked to the ne *I,
hatin% the neo/eudalism o/ unchallen%ed
cor+orate control& ational %oernments
9uickly rote ne constitutions or reised old
ones, all anious to send dele%ates to the
*I, ho+in% to attract the su++ort o/dissenters& 0hou%h many ho chan%ed
alle%iance ere soldiers, +ilots, scientists and
others ith critical skills, /or the most +art,
hoeer, the conerts( to the *I(s cause
ere eeryday men and omen, the
im+oerished, +eo+le least content ith the
ay thin%s are, ho+in% that someho the
*I ould make their lies etter&
0he con/lict ith the cor+orations as rutal
and escalated 9uickly& ;t e%an ith neo/eudal ictories on eery /ront& 0he
determinin% /actor, hoeer, as the ori%inal
Baeder Drie, /olloed y the construction o/
more, each im+roin% the ori%inal desi%n and
%iin% the *I a %reat adanta%e in the s+ace
surroundin% .arth, its /orces ale to moe
9uickly /rom one location and rea++ear
millions o/ kilometers aay instantly& 0he
*I ruled outer s+ace, and just as control o/
the air had on the %reat ar o/ .arth in the
middle o/ the 2-th
century, so no did controlo/ s+ace +roide the asis /or ictory&
0he *I ecame the central %oernment on
.arth ith indiidual nations as its
suordinate memers& Cor+orations had to
deal ith a re%ulatory system ith teeth, and
anyone ho re9uired /aster than li%ht trael
has had to +ay the *I to do so eer since&
As more usiness re9uired !0I trael and
commerce e+anded, so, too, did the *orld
Iea%ue o/ ations( reenue& )loly, 9uietly,the *I has %ron in +oer since, its leaders
aitin% /or the moment to assert total control
oer the cor+orations, aitin% /or the moment
hen the cor+orations are so indeted to the
*I that they cannot +ut u+ a /i%ht&
&e9 ge of 'ploration
$o Baeder Dries /unction remains a ell
ke+t secret, in/ormation that any cor+oration
ould ha++ily kill to +ossess& #rotectin% this
secret ruthlessly is the +rimary /ocus o/ the*I(s security and military /orces at all
times& Attem+ts hae een made to reerse
en%ineer and re+licate Baeder(s ork, ut they
hae inarialy /ailed& $e as an oscure
researcher and +hysicist ith /e academic
+ulications > and those that he +ulished
hae mysteriously disa++eared, alon% ith$ans Baeder himsel/&
;n the meantime, !0I trael has o+ened u+ the
stars to humanity& 0he main limitation remains
the aailaility o/ ener%y& .en thou%h it is
+ossile /or a Baeder Drie to trael eteen
the stars, this trael re9uires an etraordinary
amount o/ ener%y& Because o/ the /uelener%y
costs, tri+s ith Baeder Dries are alays
care/ully +lanned&
'ne source o/ alance eteen the *I andcor+orate interests is that the ener%y
in/rastructure necessary /or !0I trael is
almost entirely run y cor+orate mono+oly&
0his maintains a tense alance eteen the
hi%h +rice that cor+orations +ay to trael /aster
than li%ht and the hi%h +rice that the *I
+ays /or ener%y& ;t is a alance o/ +oer that
no one likes, ut no one is illin% to
jeo+ardie&
/ieline
Fear 'ne is hen the *orld Iea%ue o/
ations took oer the No//icialN .arth calendar
and restarted it ith the /oundin% o/ their on
or%aniation retroactiely& Because o/ this
chan%e, they ado+ted a ay o/ delineatin%
years y usin% +ositie or ne%atie inte%ers
7rather than BC.C., the archaic /orm8&
'pprox( -)**0his is the year usually
associated ith the Colla+se& $istorians ho
ork on reconstructin% the history o/ theeents knon as the Colla+se trace this date to
the second century o/ the second millennium
in hat as knon as the Common .ra&
Di%ital records /rom e/ore this time are
almost entirely unreadale and most +rinted
records ere destroyed in massie uran
ild/ires, /ireomin%s, lootin% and nuclear
detonations&
'pprox( -+* 0he eo!eudal .ra e%ins, on
o//icial *I calendars, ith the /ormation o/
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14
hat ill ecome )ila .ner%y, the /irst, and
still the lar%est, su+ercor+oration&
-,#0he A/rican Enion !ree )tate Council is
/ormed, resultin% in a numer o/ small ars on
the continent as .uro+ean, Asian and
American interests are iolently e+elled&
-&)0he AE!)CNs 0eleFear #lan ends
ith the landin% o/ its /irst astronauts on the
Moon&
-$#!irst o//orld terrorist attack > Marist
etremists smu%%le e+losies onto a Iunar
module hich lands on the MoonNs sur/ace
near a colony and they detonate it, killin%
hundreds and destroyin% illions o/ dollars o/
inestment&
-") - -)+!irst Martian Ciil *ar e%ins
eteen rial iceminin% com+anies and
s+reads to include the majority o/ colonies
there& 0he /oundin% o/ the Mars Han%ers
occurs in +art y or%aniin% i%ilante %rou+s
/ormed durin% this con/lict&
ear .ero0he eo!eudal .ra ends ith the
decision o/ the *I to /ully /und the uildin%
and testin% o/ the /irst Baeder Drie, usin%
almost all o/ the aailale ca+ital o/ allmemernations&
ear /ne0he *orld Iea%ue o/ ations is
/ounded out o/ the recka%e o/ the old Enited
ations as a counter+oint /or +riate economic
+oers and o//icially e%ins makin% le%al
claims o/ authority oer and a%ainst the eo
!eudal cor+orations& 0he A/rican Enion !ree
)tate Council re/uses to join the *I, ut
maintains di+lomatic relations ith it and
collaorates on humanitarian initiaties&
'therise, /or%otten national authorities /lockto the *I /rom hat ere orth and )outh
America, .uro+e and .ast Asia&
0";nau%ural jum+ o/ the Baeder !0I Drie
/rom outside .arthNs %raity ell to outside
)aturnNs %raity ell and ack& .stimates say
that enou%h ener%y as used to +oer eery
major city on .arth /or a month and des+ite
the distance o/ the e%innin% and end+oint
7/arther out than the Moon8, the /lash as
isile in the cloudless ni%ht sky&
0# - 0)"0he !irst eo!eudal *ar eteen
the *orld Iea%ue o/ ations and a coalition
o/ cor+orate mono+olies, ends in O12 ith the
ictory o/ the *I, the si%nin% o/ multi+le
treaties reco%niin% *I authority in matters
o/ manu/acture and commerce, and thee%innin% o/ a cold ar&
0%0he $uman Bill o/ Hi%hts is +assed
throu%h the *orld Iea%ue o/ ations
Assemly, includin% in its list a +roision
a%ainst the onershi+ o/ a human ein%&
0)#A numer o/ small, rutal con/licts reak
out as the *I seeks to en/orce its Bill o/
Hi%hts, lieratin% orker/arms in the
Asteroid Belt and massie slae +lantations in
)outheast Asia& Around the orld, onershi+clauses si%ned y em+loyees o/ a thousand
cor+orations are suddenly oid&
0)%Declassi/ied documents cite this as the
/irst date that a Baeder shi+ as sent to
colonie an .arthlike orld circlin% a distant
star > renamed /rom $D 412@G to e $o+e&
o documents mentionin% any returnjum+s
hae een declassi/ied&
0"#)er%e Piano and his cre steal a
Baeder Drie shi+ and jum+ out o/ the solarsystem, +resumaly to colonie an .arthlike
orld they call .den& Piano remains the
*INs Most *anted $uman Bein%&
0"1;n#@7rime !s. the *orld 6eague of
#ations, an ar%ument /or A; ciil ri%hts is
+resented y the A; itsel/& 0he case is locked
u+ inde/initely in the a++eal +rocess&
0##0he De/ense Hi%hts Act is +assed,
limitin% cor+orate armies in an attem+t to
+reent escalation toard another solarsystem ar& )ila .ner%y, ith the lar%est
+riate de/enses /orce o/ any cor+oration,
/i%hts the la in court and re+ortedly
continues its recruitment and ea+ons
deelo+ment in secret& 'ther cor+orations
/ollo suit, and *I clandestine serices are
stretched thin tryin% to kee+ track&
'pprox( 0%*A %ood startin% year /or a #arsec
%ame&
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2#/ Authority
)omeone is alays in char%e& 0here is alays
a i%%er /ish& *ithin #arsec, there are
+articular cate%ories that these +oer+layers
/all into& *hen orkin% on the s+eci/ics o/your %ame(s settin% and situation, it is
orthhile to %ie some thou%ht to ho each
o/ these cate%ories o/ authority interact ith
each other and ho they ill a//ect the +layer
character(s lies& !or more on +oer/ul
or%aniations and in/luential +eo+le in the
settin%, see sections 6&2 and 6&3&
#orl) Go5ernent
0he *I is a study in contradictions& 'n the
one hand, it is the sole +ro+rietor o/ the mostadanced technolo%y eer to e deelo+ed > a
drie that can +ro+el a shi+ /aster than the
s+eed o/ li%ht& 'n the other, it is de+endent on
cor+orate +roduction and technolo%y /or
almost eerythin% it re9uires on a daytoday
asis& )ecurity /orces orkin% /or the *I
o/ten hae archaic ea+onry sala%ed /rom
national stock+iles, ut its elite /orces are
armed ith the est e9ui+ment aailale, all
+aid /or /rom reenues that the Baeder Dries
rin% in&
.en as it tries to +roe its le%itimacy, the
*I continues to attract idealists and
o++ortunistic ideolo%ues alike, all tryin% to use
the *I to /urther their on %oals& 0errorists,
+olitical +hiloso+hers, /reedom /i%hters,
humanitarians and casto//s /rom the %reat
cor+orations all /ind a home there& 0he *I
is a constant clash o/ incredily dierse ends
the *I(s illin%ness to use itsstandin% army 7made u+ o/ soldiers /rom
memer nations8 in con/licts eteen
com+liant and noncom+liant cor+orations&
Cor+orations ere /aced ith to distinct
choices& )ome a%reed, concedin% +oer to the
*I in return /or the loer /ees and added
+rotection to alance thin%s out, hile others
rejected the *I(s authority, relyin% on their
on cor+orate +oer /or their +rotection,
toleratin% the hi%her /ees and other e+enses,ho+in% that y remainin% /ree(, the lack o/
re%ulations and restrictions ould +ay o// in
the lon% run&
;n the lies o/ +layercharacters, the *I ill
+rimarily come into a story i/ they trael
ithin 7or eyond8 the solar system& 0he
*orld Iea%ue o/ ations is ecomin% the one
centralied /ocal +oint /or +olitical, social and
economic +oer, and that has an ineitale
e//ect on characters& ;t is /illed ith dissention
and con/lict, ut it has claimed to re+resent all
o/ the +olitical +oers o/ .arth& *hether
colonies ithin the system ill declare
inde+endence /rom their cor+orate oners is
yet to e seen&
#orl) Go5ernent Factions
*ithin the s+heres o/ %oernment and ithin
the *I itsel/, there are three distinct major
/actions
$nter!entionists
0hey eliee the *I has the ri%ht and duty
to inole itsel/ in inter+lanetary and, i/
necessary, interstellar, a//airs& 0hey eliee in
usin% the +oer o/ the *I, increasin% its
in/luence at eery o++ortunity, and o+enly
contestin% the authority and +oer o/ the
cor+orations, criminal or%aniations, and any
other %rou+ that could e a +otential threat to
the *orld Iea%ue& Hadical interentionists
/aor usur+in% the +oer and ri%hts o/memer states /or the sake o/ the hole&
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7rotectionists
#rotectionists eliee memer nations( ri%hts
are sacrosanct, so that memershi+ in the
*I ill %uarantee the surial o/ memer
nations a%ainst outside a%%ressors&
#rotectionists alue security aoe all else and
neer com+romise on issues that they /eel %o
a%ainst the *I(s security interests&
0e!olutionaries
0hese radicals and insurrectionists see the
*I as an o++ortunity to oerturn the +oer
structures that hae dominated li/e on .arth
since medieal times& 0hey tend to e a loose
amal%amation o/ Ie/tists and eo!ascists,
includin% %enuine /reedom/i%hters as ell as
etremists ho +re/er anarchy to any /orm o/
centralied %oernment&
;n most circumstances, the #rotectionists
re+resent the majority ie and /e ho hold
that ie+oint ould eer e considered
radicals& Durin% crises, the ;nterentionist
ie+oint is heard more loudly, %ien their
status as a ocal minority hile the
reolutionaries are le/t on the /rin%es o/ the
or%aniation, aay /rom +oer, thou%h this is
makin% the Heolutionary s+here more radicalith time&
&ations
Ender the ae%is o/ the *I, a numer o/
national %oernments hae reasserted their
authority, reestalishin% old national
oundaries hich o/ten cut across neer
cor+orate territorial oundaries& ational
%oernments, %enerally s+eakin%, sim+ly
reca+itulate the con/licts o/ the *I on asomehat smaller scale& 0here is also ide
ariation /rom nation to nation, includin%
more than just lan%ua%e and some cultural
traits hich hae +ersisted oer time&
Many o/ the +oer/ul cor+orations started o//
as %oernment mono+olies or stateoned
industries, and in some cases the reconstituted
national %oernments are makin% le%al claims
/or control o/ some o/ these cor+orations&
eedless to say, this is a source o/ endless
heated con/lict&
&ational Factions
#o!iy(So!iet
0his is an im+roed mani/estation o/ the
tentiethcentury )oiet system, includin%
+arts o/ China, much o/ hat ere once#akistan, A/%hanistan, and ;ran, some o/ the
old )oiet Enion and .uro+e, and a /e allied
Iatin American states& 0he oiy)oiet is
ound to%ether economically and +olitically
rather than y %eo%ra+hy, makin% u+ /or the
%eo%ra+hical o+enness ith re+ressie +olitics
and in/ormationcontrol& 0hou%h a su++orter
o/ the *I, the oiy)oiet nations resist
increased *I in/luence in their home
territories, makin% the oiy)oiet a
com+etitor ith the *I in addition to thecor+orations& 0he oiy)oiet considers
itsel/ a +eer to the lar%est cor+orations, since
usinesses under its control are theoretically
oned y the state& ;n reality, the ) must
%rant cor+orations a %reat deal o/ lenience, and
it is +la%ued y det and /re9uent shorta%es&
TheAfrican nion ree State Council
0his or%aniation o/ A/rican nations turned to
radical isolationism in the a/termath o/ the
Colla+se& *hile relatiely im+oerished
com+ared to many other re%ions o/ the orld,
1-- years o/ A/rican nations and ethnic %rou+s
or%aniin% themseles ithout outside
inter/erence has, rather sur+risin%ly, led to an
era o/ +eace and in some +laces %enuine
+ros+erity& A/rica is the lar%est re+ository o/
natural resources remainin% on .arth, and the
ene/its o/ that natural ealth hae een
enjoyed y the AE!)C memer states&
Because o/ this ealth, the Council deelo+edand maintains a +oer/ul military in order to
ard o// inter/erence /rom the *I, the ),
cor+orate interests and other %rou+s itter at
the loss o/ access to chea+ laor and materials&
;n some cases, these con/licts hae led to
outri%ht ar/are ith the AE!)C or%aniin%
%uerilla cam+ai%ns until the outsiders lose the
ill 7and /inancin%8 to continue and ithdre&
&eo-Fe*)al %orporations
0he socioeconomic colla+se descried aoeis license /or any %ien %rou+ o/ +layers to
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come u+ ith ne cor+orate names, or to use
ones they are /amiliar ith i/ they +re/er& ;n
the #arsec milieu, most o/ the old cor+orations
o/ the early 21st
century ere i+ed out,
ankru+ted, or ou%ht out thou%h this means
that some eistin% cor+orate names ill still
look /amiliar&
Cor+orations are +rimarily uilt around a
horiontal mono+oly or ertical inte%ration&
Mono+olies are ell knon hile com+anies
ith ertical inte%ration on all as+ects o/
+roduction 7ran%in% /rom onershi+ o/ minin%
ri%hts all the ay to onin% the store /ronts
that sell to consumers8& ot all cor+orations
are hu%e& )maller cor+orations +er/orm
s+ecialied tasks /or other /irms, utiliin% thats+ecialiation 7as ell as +ayin% /inancial
triute( to lar%er cor+orations8 to maintain
their inde+endence& Most o/ the cor+orations
that si%ned the *I charter are smaller ones,
seein% the charter as /urther +rotection o/ their
ri%hts and +ro+erty&
*hen uildin% the hierarchy /or a s+eci/ic
cor+oration, kee+ /eudalism in mind& ;nstead
o/ oaths o/ /ealty, there are contractual
oli%ations& ;nstead o/ tithes and taes, thereare /ranchise and licensin% /ees& Cor+orations
are insular, and relationshi+s eteen them are
care/ully re%ulated to aoid the lar%escale
con/licts hich hae scarred the +ast&
Cor+orate ars, in style, resemle the ars o/
Iouis Q; and Marlorou%h more than they
do the total ar style o/ the American Ciil
*ar or the orld ars o/ the 2-th
century&
Po9erf*l %orporations
Syl!a Energy70radin% as )."F8
)."F is one o/ the most +oer/ul
or%aniations anyhere in the settin%&
!ounded y the )yla /amily o/ +reColla+se
Brail, ho many %ossi+ers su%%est has a
history similar to that o/ the Bor%ias o/
medieal ;taly, it achieed early +oer hen
it ou%ht the assets o/ the colla+sed Braillian
%oernment& )yla .ner%y has its hands in
ener%y +roduction and distriution
eeryhere, and as it %re, )."F eoled
into a ureaucratic ehemoth, een thou%h it is
still run y the same /amily hich has
controlled the cor+oration /or more than a
century&
0he )ylas are ruthless, and the in/i%htin% o/
the /amily is le%endary, as ruthless as their
treatment o/ outsiders ishin% to dis+lace
them& Cor+orate mana%ement is handled in
similar /ashion, /osterin% outri%ht com+etition
eteen em+loyees those ho are stron%est
rise to the to+ hile those on the ottom are
/or%otten&
7rotean enetics70radin% as #H'"8
#H'" is at the cuttin% ed%e o/ %enetic
en%ineerin% and mani+ulation and is a major
/undin% source /or smaller com+anies
en%a%in% in iolo%ical e+erimentation& ;ts
%enesis as as an amal%amation o/ arious
cor+orate entities ou%ht out and consolidated
in the years a/ter the Colla+se& )ince then,
#H'" has een at the /ore/ront o/ %enetics, a
+osition they maintain throu%h a loose
inter+retation o/ hat they le%ally can and
cannot do& #rotean "enetics, in a landmark
le%al case 7decided in a /or+ro/it court o/
ne%otiation in the acuum o/ national or
international courts a
numer o/ human ein%s, in /act& 0he decision
stated that the +eo+le sold themseles o/ their
on accord, so that the de/endant has no need
to justi/y their actions here in a usiness
aritration courtroom&
"E!er hear of Joseph Mengele> %e's the guy who
singlehandedly wiped out a million Jews for the #a&is.
%e's one of the most e!il !ile things to e!er walk the
planet. $f aliens e4ist and use him as e!idence ofhumanity's !alue we are worthless. So let's be clear
about this because this isn't hyperbole1 Mengele had a
better set of ethics than any of these F2E6ETE2 )0
70)A#$T8F.-((2arrell )range commenting on the
!erdict in the 7rotean Agenda case=his daughter sold
herself for ;
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controls, there is a cons+icuous %roin%
demand /or lack market %oods and serices&
Crime syndicates hae held a stran%e +osition
in the +ast, o+eratin% on market +rinci+les o/
su++ly and demand, just in ille%al %oods and
serices& Cor+orations hae tolerated this tosome de%ree, and hae een made use o/
syndicates /or their on +ur+oses, ut they do
not a++reciate any encroachment on their
control&
0he emer%ence o/ the *I reini%orated the
%reat crime syndicates as ell as creatin% ne
ones hich /illed ne market niches& 0he
*I is less tolerant than cor+orations ere in
the +ast, and this has led to /re9uent con/licts
eteen the to kinds o/ authority,%oernmental and illicit, een resultin% in
im+licit /ree/ire ones to restrict the ille%al
trans+ort o/ %oods&
;n contrast to the mono+olies that are at the
heart o/ the cor+orations, crime syndicates
tend to e /ar less centralied& Authority is
maintained throu%h iolence intimidation and
lackmail > there is a %reat deal o/ in/ormation
that they hae hich could com+romise
+oer/ul +eo+le i/ reealed&
Behind the eeryday ille%al actiities o/ the
crime syndicates, rumors eist that the arious
or%aniations actually hae a central
leadershi+ that oersees criminal actiity
orldide > toard hat end, no one
knosLor at least no one(s talkin%& ;n
addition, it is a +oorlyke+t secret that the
*I is illin% to oerlook criminal actiity
hich circuments the cor+orations&
Chen 2o Chen
$e is a /orce o/ nature& $e is /eared, reered,
and hated, ut neer i%nored& 0here is
s+eculation that he( is actually a numer o/
+eo+le rather than just a sin%le man& $o else
could he e eeryhere, yet neer seen, neer
cau%ht? 0he /act o/ the matter is, hoeer,
that the criminal underorld has a kin%, and
his name is Chen&
/?ra&ilian' 7ri!ateers
0here(s a %reat deal o/ +ro/it in +iracy, andcor+orations are aare o/ that& )ome o/ the
most or%anied criminals are +riateers
o+eratin% their on cra/t, oats and shi+s on
aterays, ut also s+aceca+ale cra/t ale to
+rey on inter+lanetary car%o haulers&
By tradition, most o/ these +irates and
+riateers s+eak e #ortu%uese, the
lan%ua%e o/ Brail and eastern )outh America&
;t has led to rumors that most +irates are in the
em+loy o/ )yla .ner%y&
0his rumor has +lenty o/ truth to it it is no
secret that )yla o//icially +ays +riateers to
+rey on its com+etitors in s+ace& 0hey /launt
the +ractice as yet another mode o/
intimidation& ;n the meantime, there is
tremendous money and notoriety to e earned
in the +oorly %uarded shi++in% lanes eteenstations and colonies&
Religion
0he orld(s major reli%ions still eist, thou%h
they hae under%one si%ni/icant chan%es&
A/ter the Colla+se, reli%ious or%aniations
ere the only %rou+s actiely seekin% to hel+
the +oor& e reli%ious moements and sects
hae s+run% u+, more acce+tin% o/ the ra+id
chan%e and sel/au%mentation that has comeith inter+lanetary trael and adances in
%enetic and cyernetic technolo%y&
Heli%ion is a stron% or%aniin% /orce amon%
'utsiders on .arth, and in some cases, on the
s+ace stations and the colonies in the solar
system as ell& Heli%ion is a ay o/ orderin%
li/e that %oes eyond the neo/eudal structure
that has een in +oer /or %enerations the *I is more illin% to
utilie oert iolence to achiee their ends&
'/ course, cor+orations hae no ojection to
+hiloso+hies that em+hasie +aci/ism and
oeyin% tem+oral +oers, so it should e no
sur+rise that many leadin% cor+orate /amilies
hae stron% reli%ious ties as ell& Heli%ious
%rou+s o/ten jum+ at the chance to conert
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are holdoers /rom a time e/ore mass
communication and the +ostnational +olitics
o/ humans in s+ace, ut old haits die hard&
0here are also a /e realtime translation
deices aailale hich +roide %ood
translations o/ most .arth lan%ua%es7includin% slan%8, thou%h there are numerous
uran myths aout im+ro+er translations or
ino++ortune moments /or the translator
atteries to %o dead&
A common lan%ua%e has emer%ed or%anically
>7oly, short /or +oly%lot& ;t is a man%led
comination o/ slan% /rom a doen lan%ua%es
o/ .arth +e++ered ith rand ne inented
ords dran /rom all corners o/ +o+ular
culture& #oly has no dictionary and the%rammar is oscure to say the least, and you
can(t %et ery /ar discussin% +olitics or
+hiloso+hy, ut it is a ides+read use
lan%ua%e /or those ho don(t ant to other
ith talkin% throu%h a translator, electronic or
otherise& #oly is directly connected to youth
and +o+ular culture& ;t isn(t a++ro+riate /or the
oardroom or courtroom, ut almost
eeryone knos at least a smatterin% o/ #oly
+hrases& !or usiness and education, American
.n%lish is the common lan%ua%e&
)idearote Ian%ua%e isn(t normally
somethin% you need to orry aout in #arsec&
;n some cases, understandin% hat is ein%
said mi%ht re9uire a )kill roll 7Culture8, and
ein% in un/amiliar circumstances ill cause
+enalties hen you(re tryin% to socialie, ut
you don(t need to kee+ track o/ hat
lan%ua%es your character s+eaks > thou%h
Directors may choose to cause
communications reakdons eteen +eo+le/rom time to time i/ it /urthers the +lot or is a
de/ined 'stacle& 7More on this in Cha+ters 3
and 48
(nsi)ers an)
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e+ect& 0echnolo%y neer deelo+s at an een
+ace& !or eam+le, urnin% /ossil /uels
+roduces most o/ the ener%y that the modern
Enited )tates uses& 0his is an ine//icient and
ancient technolo%y, ut hen a++lied on a
hu%e scale, it still +oers the orld(s mostim+ortant economy& 'n the other hand, the
Enited )tates( military technolo%y is ithout
+eer& ;/ there is a +ossile military
adancement that can e made, it is usually
done so y the E&)& A /uture society could, /or
eam+le, mirror the modern Enited )tates(
deelo+ment > hi%hly adanced military
technolo%y, ut rudimentary ener%y
+roduction&
At the other end o/ the s+ectrum, a societycould +roduce ast amounts o/ chea+ ener%y
throu%h hi%hly adanced /usion and solar
technolo%ies, hile su++ortin% only a
rudimentary military ith archaic /irearms&
0his dis+arity can also come u+ in any area o/
adancement > in medicine, trans+ortation,
a%riculture, neuroscience or any other
technical /ield& .ach or%aniation, nation,
syndicate and so on is di//erent&
!olloin% are some cate%ories o/ technolo%y
that a//ect the #arsec unierse& 0he +layers
and the Director decide hat each kind o/
technolo%y looks like and ho common it is&&
)kills are necessary to %et somethin% done:
technolo%y +roides color and %uidelines /or
descriin% your character(s actions& 7More on
this in Cha+ter 38
Kee+ in mind that technolo%ical di//erences
only really matter /or ;nsiders& !or 'utsiders,
ener%y is alays %enerated locally or stolen:
ea+ons are alays makeshi/t or sala%ed:technolo%ical deices are alays coled
to%ether /rom sala%ed +arts: thin%s like
simsene or cuttin%ed%e medicine are alays
out o/ reach&
&e*roscience
0he most si%ni/icant adance is the recently
deelo+ed technolo%y o/ recordin% entire
e+eriences hich can e ree+erienced y
another +erson ith similar e9ui+ment& 0hise+erience is simsene, short /or simulated
sensory e+eriences& 0he most conenient
method o/ usin% the so/tare is ia medical
+rocedure, +lacin% im+lants directly into the
rain& ;t is +ossile to e+erience simsene
ithout the e+ensie im+lants, ut the e//ect
is /uier > it doesn(t interru+t all o/ your onsensory in+ut, and the transmission isn(t as
+ure and direct&
Many thinkers and ethicists are ary o/ this
technolo%y and are demandin% that the *I,
national %oernments, and cor+orations +lace
restrictions on the use o/ simsene until the
lon%term e//ects are understood& Meanhile,
simsene recordin%s o/ the e+eriences o/
celerities enjoy massie sales, entertainment
is ein% +roduced hich takes oer the entiresensory system o/ the customer(s rain, and
moralists decry the hole thin%& $ack sho+s
sell /aulty %ear that /ries neurons or at est
%ies a /uy transmission, oyeurism has a
hole ne meanin%, and the era has arried
here eerythin% you e+erience can e
stored on a data chi+ to e re+layed later > /or
the ri%ht +rice&
nergy
0he majority o/ ener%y comes /rom /usion+oer, thou%h this +oer re9uires rare
elements /ound +rimarily o//orld& 'n .arth,
/usion +oer is au%mented y solar, tidal,
ind, %eothermal, and hydroelectric, as ell
as iodiesel /uel and a%in% conentional
/ission +lants& !usion reactions hae +roen
stale and e//icient and there hae een no
si%ni/icant incidents on .arth, thou%h
mal/unctions hae +roen disastrous o//orld
7Most s+aceshi+s are +oered y sel/
contained /usion cores, re/ueled hen the shi+
is ale to dock&8&
;n s+ace, most o/ the stations in orit around
.arth also use solar arrays, collectin% ener%y
/rom the sun hich is then transmitted to the
sur/ace ia +oer/ul lasers, relayin% ener%y to
the /inal destination /or conersion and then
consumer use&
0his aundance o/ ener%y means the ealthy
can lie it