Ranger REG
Explorer
Limited?teitan said:
FFG have a habit of dropping good-quality RPG lines, even their Blue Planet.
Sad that such many good things are wasted on a company.
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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Does anyone still play Dragon Star?
- Thread starter Virtue
- Start date
FFG have a habit of dropping good-quality RPG lines, even their Blue Planet.
Sad that such many good things are wasted on a company.
Karl Green
First Post
Sorry to raise this thread from the dead, but I was fleshing out a background for my weird mix of Dragonstar/Eberron (with a dash of WH40K, Iron Kingdom and maybe some Dune into the mix) game idea. In brief (HAHAH)
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Brief History of Dragonstar Empire
The Unified Church (also called the Church of the Pan-creation of 12 Disciplines) teaches that in the beginning the Great Maw opened and from that the Shard-Don Galaxy was formed. Then 12 Gods awoke and looked out from the Deep Core… and they were pleased. Spanning light-years they walked out among the young stars and with their cooling breath, formed the first worlds, and created the first life forms… and they were pleased. Their first creations were the Dragons; formed from the very elements of the Heavens, they were above all those that came later, blessed with the very stuff of the universe… and they were pleased.
Over the millennium, the Gods wandered and did create other life, here and there, scattered among the stars they worked their miracles and plans undreamed of by mortals. When they were done, they rested, and watched, giving aid when call upon, and assuming many roles and guises to the peoples of the Galaxy.
Around 100,000 years ago, the Ancients took to the stars. These beings where giants, not only in size but in intellect and magical power. Their mechanika tech and magikal knowledge reviled anything achieved by the Dragon Star Empire today. They explored and spread across the stars, ruling an empire far greater in size then what has been discovered today. But then, so 50,000 years ago something happened. It is thought that a nightmare realm, from somewhere beyond the Astral Planes, connected with this universe. The Ancients battled this nightmare realm for ten thousand years it is thought, and in the end they sealed the Planes off from the known universe but in so doing they doomed themselves. Now all that remains are half forgotten ruins, shattered across the known worlds, and savage giant races, the devolved descendents of once proud and might beings who have no knowledge of their once great empire.
Then some 8,000 years ago, the ‘younger’ races started to set out and leave the confines of their native worlds, to seek the stars. The first were believed to be the Gnomes… inquisitive and curious by nature, they sought out that which was ‘out there’. Mankind was not far behind them, and soon, literally hundreds of races were exploring the stars. The first ‘Star League’ was formed as a mutual defense and commerce between the Gnome, Dwarfs, Elfs and Humans of the time. The first crisis for the League was the ‘War of the Mark’ where the Dragonmark Corps where first formed. Competition and rivalry eventually lead to an all out war and those Houses that survived formed the first Aristocorps. Soon after this the Dragons came onto the scene and slowly but surely they rallied the lesser races to them… which in the end lead to war. The Dragon Wars were the most terrible, destructive and longest war of all time. Lasting almost a thousand years, it only ended when both side finally came to terms with the fact that neither of them could win. Whole worlds were left barren of life, poisoned to this day by the destructive power that the war let lose. In the end, the compromise was formed with the creation of the Dragonstar Empire just over 5,000 years ago. Each ‘House’ of Dragon would rule for a 1,000 years and then would step aside for the next ruler. The Qesement Houses ruled first, with the last – House Aranath stepping aside for House Mazorgirm…
With the rise of the Red Age (or the Rule of the Red Wyrm Emperor Mezzenbone, who assumed the Star Throne 42 years ago) the Empire has taken on a much darker tone and outlook. Border disputes and skirmishes are more common, open war exists along much of the Outworld Non-Allied Worlds as the Emperor seeks to quickly expand the borders of ‘his’ new Empire. The Qesement have remained silent and unmoved by these problems; for they ruled for their time, and following the accords, must now sit back. The problems of the lesser races are generally not as important, even to the Good Dragons, as is the social stability of the Empire. After all, it will only be another 5,000 years before the dawning of the next ‘Light’ Age… it is not to long in the lives of the Immortal Dragons.
Races of Dragonstar
Dragons come in the 12 types (although only 10 wield power within the Dragonstar Empire and are part of the Shard-Don Lazzgor’ten); the ‘good’ or light Dragons are (in order of power and influence) Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze, Brass, while those of the ‘dark’ or evil types include the Red, Blue, Black, Green and White Dragons. The two ‘lost’ Dragons, who are all thought to have been killed during the Dragon Wars were the ‘Electrum’ (light) and the ‘Yellow’ (dark) Dragons. Rumors say they still exist, but if so they are very rare indeed. There are suppose to be other kinds of dragons, some for example include the Star and Shadow, but the Lazzgor’ten do not accept these subtypes as true dragons and offer them no special power or prestige.
The 10 Houses of the Lazzgor’ten of the Qesement (Light) and of the Asament (Dark) Courts are Deserene (Gold), Sarava (Silver), Golion (Copper), Handor (Bronze), Aranath (Brass), Mazorgrim (Red), Osorus (Blue), Noros (Black), Esmer (Green), and Ahara (White)
Half-Dragons can come from any mixing of a Trueblood with one of the lesser races. Only the ruling 10 dragon types are commonly found as Half-Dragons within the Empire though.
Of the ‘Common’ Lesser Races they are (in order of numbers, not power) – Orks, Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halfling, Elves, Shifters, Half-Orks and Half-Elves, Changelings, Warforged and finally the Ogres. The Warforged are not really a race onto themselves, having been created to fight wars. When they gained ‘sentience’ some hundred years ago, Emperor Shandeebon (during the Age of Brass) granted them full citizenship of the Lesser Races. They were also giving over the rights of the Forge Worlds where they were created to continue their race with the ‘Forge Furnaces’. No other Forge creation have developed sentience, and the Aristocorps Cannith seems quit determined not to let it happen again (for they lost significant holdings to the Warforged)
Of the ‘Uncommon’ Lesser Races, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types that are acknowledged and accepted within the Empire. But that does not go for all, and there are some ‘banned’ or outlawed Races that are not normally allowed to exist (these include many Aberrant Races such as the Mind Flayer and the incest Forgrim because they insist on eating other sentient races).
Social Standings and Rule in the Empire
As one would expect, Dragons (Truebloods) sit at the top of the political and social structure within the Dragon Empire. They rule through the Ten Shard-Don Lazzgor’ten, or Ruling Houses. Each color of Dragon is a House, with its own internal power structure and independences within the Empire (see above).
Half-Dragons, or Thinbloods, are generally considered the next level of power and rule most of the lesser races directly through political office, heads of the Dragonmark Aristocorps, the bureaucracy and judicial courts. This is not to say that all Thinbloods are afforded the same powers as a full Dragon, nor do all Half-Dragon enjoy the same comforts and rights, but they are generally elevated above the other races.
The next most powerful group is the Dragonmark Aristocorps; made up of those peoples from the different ‘Common’ Lesser Races. Powerful interstellar corporations, they are given wide latitude and autonomy within the Empire, for they provide most if not all of the important goods and services that keep the engines of the society moving forward. It is important to remember that these corporations are rules like fiefdoms by noble and other aristocrats. Not all members of the Dragonmark Aristocorps bare the ‘Dragon-Marks’ that give the houses their names, but all of the leadership and owners generally must.
The Imperial Navy and Marines Legions (often simply called the Militaris) are the next power group within the Empire. While under the direct control of the Emperor and Sector Dragonlords, the Militaris Legions are given fairly wide ranging powers in the Outworlds and in rebellious regions of the Empire. The third branch of the Militaris, the Imperial Army or Planetary Guard is the weaknesses in power of the three and are generally limited to one planet or system for their power base and fairly defused throughout the Empire.
The Bureaucracy or Administrous Guilds are the next most powerful as they see to the daily running of the Empire, and perform all the functions to keep everything moving. As one might imagine, it is a huge monolith organization, with offices on every world if not every city on every world within the Empire. They are also normally in charge of record keeping and data-collection, and there is truly a mountain of inform available and it grows every day. It could be argued that are at least as powerful as the Militaris and may wield more then the Aristocorps in some areas, but most people who not think so until they have to deal with them.
Another group of power is the Imperial Judicial Courts, or the Canonicus, who are not as large as any of the others, but their voices are often heard quite loudly. While the Lesser races have little recourse against the rules of their lives, the courts do remain a small area where they might be at least considered and heard.
A group that fits in somewhere around here is the ISED or Imperial Special Enforcement Directorate, a group created by the Red Emperor… his not so ‘secret police’. Among the Lesser Races, they are given a great deal of latitude to investigate and rout out insurrection and crime. Most members are Dark Elves and to a lesser extent Humans, and wear badges called ‘Malicious’ Seal of Authority to identify themselves.
Two criminal organizations also fit in somewhere around this level of power (although some say they are far more influential then most in the Empire wish to believe) the Crimson Night Syndicate (focused on smuggling and pirates) and the Black Hole Exchange (focused more on planetary criminal actively like extortion, burglary, etc). The leadership and organizational activities of these groups is fairly secret, but these are interstellar criminal organizations with far reaching wealth and influence.
The Noble Lords and Houses of the Lesser Races fit into the mix just below those mentioned above, as they are given some latitude and autonomy in ruling over their own lands, so long as their taxes are paid and order is maintained (on the surface at least). It is from this group that the strongest and growing resistance to the Empire is burning… seeking greater freedoms or power, many of the Lesser Races (especially the Common Races). The most powerful Human Houses are the Hawkthorne, Dialak, La-Pendar, Quilest, and SwordWorlds. The Houses of the Dwarfs’ include the Ten Fathers, IronHands, and HammerWorlds. The Elf Houses include Star and Fey Courts. Gnomes include Houses Gridmind, Scavengers & Seekers, and House Truth. Halflings have only one House called Tamear. The Warforged have two primary Houses – House Steel and House Metal. Orks and Ogres share the weak houses of House Wild-Lands and WarHusk, while Shifters have only the BeastLords. Changelings are only barely tolerated and hold no House of their own. It should be notes that NOT all races serve in their race’s House, and many serve in a different House, or Dragonmark Aristocorps, the Militaris Legions, or are Independent, etc. These Houses only wield power on their homeworlds and in some part of the Empire.
About on par with the power of the Lesser Houses is the Unified Church, which holds a great deal of power and influence over its followers, but is limited in what it can ‘impose’. One note of course is that the Empire is very tolerant of and from religion and the Church is not allowed to force those who choice not to believe.
Then there are the local and regional governors and local power structure that includes Enforcers and local government officials (governors, mayors, city council, postal workers, etc). Their power is generally limited, not only to the region of authority but also in what they can impose onto the local Lesser Races.
The independents, free traders, freeborn and travelers come next, and have a great deal of freedom of movement and ability to own what they can afford. They don’t have any real power over anyone except their own lives (and for most that is more then enough).
Next to the bottom, but not quite there are the normal citizens, the non-Dragonmark factory workers and secretaries and office workers, space-hands and data-entry specialist. There lives are dominated by their work, getting up everyday to be able to afford to live within the Empire. Most are hardworking, honest and insular; caring little about anyone but their own family and friends.
At the bottom of the social help are the peasants, serfs, slaves, the unemployable and the illegal (criminals who have charges already imposed onto them). Depending on where they are this can be a fairly pleasant life, where they are guarantees certain rights and protections that their Dragon masters provided them… or it can be a never ending hopeless existence of work and pain and fear (especially in Asament space).
Technomagic and Arcane Mechanikas
In the Galaxy of Dragonstar, normal technological and mechanical inventions are uncommon. Technomagic, or technology powered by and created by magic is the norm. They still have cars, and slugthrowning assault rifles and starships and toaster ovens, but these items were created through the use of mechanika engineering and technomagic theory. Most items have a more ‘organic’ or ‘low-tech’ feel and look then what we might be use to, but it functions just as well, if not better.
Communication between the stars is achieved through Crystal-Shard message and image Pods with the aid of mechanika machines boosters, while on a world or within a single Stellar System, mana-powered Radio and Messer signals waves are used. Entertainment in the form of Holo-projected crystals, much like modern TV and Radio, is very popular and readily available on Core Worlds. Handheld Data-Scrolls can store huge amounts of information and can beam this to each other or less mobile stations, call Data-Stores; something akin to a computer work station, variant in size depending on its powers and storage capacity, but often look more like Pyramids or large dark colored Dragonshard crystals. Spellware is a process that is used to create mystical organs and runic treatments that can modify the body, much like what cyberware might one day provide, and are powered by the recipients' own internal ‘divine spark’. Slugthrower pistols look something like a cross between a modern pistol and a musket pistol, covered in etched runes and use enchanted smoke-powder to ‘throw’ a metal ‘slug’. Lasguns and Blasters are more sleek and modern looking, with Dragonshard crystal enchantments to power them, but also made from mithral and strange woods. Robots and Androids are called Forged and are made from metal, wood and alchemist material, bond and woven together. Magebreed Animals are also created using extensive technomagical processes that increases their intelligence, natural abilities and loyalty to their master. While a landcar would be made mostly of wood and iron and powered by the alchemist elixir called Eber Oil. Even modern clothing includes large mechanika textile mills that can weave shadows and pure colors into physical cloth, called Shadowweave and Pureweave. Traditional magical items, such as a sword or axe still exist, but with a more mechanika feel and look to them. Starships often are sleek and organic looking, powered by huge refined Dragonshards power-plants, and covered with runic protections and operations. The StarCaster, the devices that allows Star-Travel to exist, is a huge circler orb, golden in color and trapped within a magnetic-lightning field. Fueled by ‘Liquid Orichalcum’, it can create a jump-gateway between two points that ‘folds’ space and allow a ship to cover huge stellar distances in an instant.
Basic Religion of Dragonstar
Most people of the Dragonstar Empire follow the Unified Church (also called the Church of the Pan-creation of 12 Disciplines), or more importantly one of the Gods or Goddess as their Patron religion. These gods run the gambit from good to evil, but the Church teaches that they are all important and there’re strict laws within the Empire to assure that all are observed and not repressed.
The base 12 Gods or Disciplines of the Unified Church are – the Destroyer (Evil), the Father (Good), the Judge (Law), the Lover (Peace), the Magus (Arcane), the Merchant (Trade), the Mother (Creation/Birth), the Reaper (Death), the Stormlord (Nature), the Smith (Craft), the Trickster (Chaos), and the Warrior (War)
That is not to say that everyone follows these ideas, there are a number of ‘heretical’ practices that are often pursued by the Church. The largest of these heretical groups is the Dualist Heresy. They see not 12 gods and goddess, but instead only two – the Creator and the Adversary. The other main heretical group are those that follow the ‘Old Faith’, rejecting the ‘gods’ as it were and instead focus on the elemental forces of the Universe as the true creators of life. Called Druids, they are afforded more rights and freedoms then those of the Dualist Heresy as freedom ‘from’ religion is also a strong law within the Empire (the main reason that the Church is allow to persecute the Dualist is that they do not reject the Church, they are actually ‘changing’ it).
There are other, smaller religions also that are afforded these protections to exist within the Empire. Followers of the Silver-Flame, for example, hail form Helios IV where a large ‘eternal flame’ is said to house their god. The Dark Elfs follow a goddess that combines aspects of the Destroyer and the Mother, calling her the Spinner, the Spider-Mother, and the Eight Eyes of Decay.
Common Planetary Types of the Empire
There are literally thousands of ‘Core’ worlds (worlds recognized as part of the Empire) within the Dragonstar Empire, and more being added every day. They can often be broken down into few different types of worlds; some examples…
*Throneworlds – there are technically only 11 Throneworlds within the Dragon Empire, one for each of the ten great houses, and Draconis Prime, the world where the Dragon Emperor sits upon the Star Throne. The other Throneworlds are Galadar (Gold), Aelding (Silver), Meneer (Copper), Endagar (Bronze), Ambrant (Brass), Arangorn (Red), Thormorath (Blue), Morngond (Black), Malaval (Green) and Rilion (White).
*First or Primitus Worlds – full member worlds, they vary greatly in what they might look like, but generally have high techomagical levels and protective rights within the Empire. Some are ‘world-cities’ covered completely by huge towers (called Hive-Habs) made of adamantine and mithral that shore miles into the sky, while others are ‘preserved-worlds’ (especially among the Elfs), where there are heavy restrictions on industry and population growth and the planet is kept in a pristine condition.
*Obduros Worlds – partial member worlds within the Empire, these planets are either technomagically pre-Stellar, under Imperial Edict of Insurrection, or are only recently colonized worlds (and hence have limited resources or independence). The citizens often have limited rights within the Empire and restrictions on their travel and what can be imported.
*Forge Worlds – sometimes whole planets have been given over to various Technomagic and Arcane Mechanikas Industry, covering the world with the poisonous smoke from the fires of the great forge furnaces. The citizens most often live in seal Habs, venturing out only with Breather masks and Toxiweave cloaks, except for those worlds given over to Warforged who near not worry about such things. Most of these worlds produce little to no food and are dependent on imports to feed its workers.
*Agrow Worlds – specializing in the production of the food stuffs that feed the rest of the Empire, these worlds come in many forms; like the water world of Poseidon Home which fishes and exports thousands of tons of seafood each day, or Rook’s Reach which is a major producer of grain and wheat stuff, and Hardin Plains with is huge plains raise all kinds of herd animal meats.
*Pleasure Worlds – another specialized world, that sole or major productions value is the importation of tourists. The most famous are Gladiolus Prime, renowned for its gladiator fighting pits and arenas, and Iucunditas Seven, know for its sensual pleasure houses that can meet any ‘need’ or desire. Natteen Sellacore is also well know simply for the majestic beauty of its great mountains, waterfalls, pristine forests and crystal clear and clean green-blue oceans and is a destination of many tourists groups.
*Militaris Worlds – those worlds that are under the complete control of one of the Military Branches, and serve as training grounds and weapon testing fields. Travel and trade to these worlds is heavily restricted by the Militaris Legion Orders. Most of these worlds have few if any native sentient life, and have never been colonized.
Some Non-Core Worlds examples…
*Claustrum Worlds – below the Obduros Worlds, the Claustrum or Prison Worlds exist only under special Imperial Edicts, mostly found within Asament space or in Outworld space (space outside the Empire). Nothing expect prisoners and occasional food-stuffs is allowed too be imported (and only under special Imperial licensing) and nothing is ever exported from these worlds.
*Dead Worlds – destroyed during the Dragon Wars or Ancient Wars or some other long forgotten outbreak, these worlds are under ‘Imperial Interdico’, meaning that it is illegal to even enter their star system. It is said that the Dragon’s are either ashamed of what they did to these worlds or that weapons and experiments that went wrong still lurk on them waiting to escape. Some examples include the Ghoul World Systems (within the Empires’ borders) and the Necron Gulf (outside the Empires’ borders).
*Outworlds – any worlds outside the Empire that can have almost any range of techomagic, from the primitive too near Stellar Alliances. These worlds have little to no protection against the threat of Imperial Invasion, especially in the Red Age. While some might be interested in joining the Empire, it is totally dependent on the wimps of the present Emperor. Others, who might not want to be a part of the Empire try and hide themselves, wishing to have nothing to do with the Dragonlords. But most are totally ignorant of the Empire and the wider stellar galaxy… thinking their world is unique or alone in the heavens.
The premise for my game – the game will start in the ‘Guff of Light’ Outworlds Star Cluster, out-space bordering both House Aranath (Brass) and Noros (Black) sectors*. These semi-independent systems have been under the threat of invasion by the Black Militaris Legions (sponsored by the Red Emperor) for almost 10 years now, and have suffered multiple raids from the Dark Nebula by various aberrations and even the Forgrim (commonly called ‘Clicks’ by most people for the strange noises that is believed to make up their language). The government has started hiring a number of sell-swords too help protect themselves. The Bronze Half-Dragon Captain Pellas el’Roun is the leader of a collection of starships that operate throughout the systems. He commands from the converted Corvette Cruiser-class craft ‘the Azure Ranger’ and the characters are crew-members on one of the scores of smaller ships and soldiers working to protect the peoples of this region. Many dangers lurk on these worlds and heroes are needed now more then ever... adventures might include rescuing hostages, investigating lost mining outposts that have gone silent, seeking out and destroying pirate havens and ships, opposing the Black Militaris Legion Expeditionary Forces and ISED agents, repealing invaders such as the Forgrim or Necron League (undead fanatics hailing from the Necron Gulf), etc.
*Yes I know I switched the location of White and Black for my game
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Brief History of Dragonstar Empire
The Unified Church (also called the Church of the Pan-creation of 12 Disciplines) teaches that in the beginning the Great Maw opened and from that the Shard-Don Galaxy was formed. Then 12 Gods awoke and looked out from the Deep Core… and they were pleased. Spanning light-years they walked out among the young stars and with their cooling breath, formed the first worlds, and created the first life forms… and they were pleased. Their first creations were the Dragons; formed from the very elements of the Heavens, they were above all those that came later, blessed with the very stuff of the universe… and they were pleased.
Over the millennium, the Gods wandered and did create other life, here and there, scattered among the stars they worked their miracles and plans undreamed of by mortals. When they were done, they rested, and watched, giving aid when call upon, and assuming many roles and guises to the peoples of the Galaxy.
Around 100,000 years ago, the Ancients took to the stars. These beings where giants, not only in size but in intellect and magical power. Their mechanika tech and magikal knowledge reviled anything achieved by the Dragon Star Empire today. They explored and spread across the stars, ruling an empire far greater in size then what has been discovered today. But then, so 50,000 years ago something happened. It is thought that a nightmare realm, from somewhere beyond the Astral Planes, connected with this universe. The Ancients battled this nightmare realm for ten thousand years it is thought, and in the end they sealed the Planes off from the known universe but in so doing they doomed themselves. Now all that remains are half forgotten ruins, shattered across the known worlds, and savage giant races, the devolved descendents of once proud and might beings who have no knowledge of their once great empire.
Then some 8,000 years ago, the ‘younger’ races started to set out and leave the confines of their native worlds, to seek the stars. The first were believed to be the Gnomes… inquisitive and curious by nature, they sought out that which was ‘out there’. Mankind was not far behind them, and soon, literally hundreds of races were exploring the stars. The first ‘Star League’ was formed as a mutual defense and commerce between the Gnome, Dwarfs, Elfs and Humans of the time. The first crisis for the League was the ‘War of the Mark’ where the Dragonmark Corps where first formed. Competition and rivalry eventually lead to an all out war and those Houses that survived formed the first Aristocorps. Soon after this the Dragons came onto the scene and slowly but surely they rallied the lesser races to them… which in the end lead to war. The Dragon Wars were the most terrible, destructive and longest war of all time. Lasting almost a thousand years, it only ended when both side finally came to terms with the fact that neither of them could win. Whole worlds were left barren of life, poisoned to this day by the destructive power that the war let lose. In the end, the compromise was formed with the creation of the Dragonstar Empire just over 5,000 years ago. Each ‘House’ of Dragon would rule for a 1,000 years and then would step aside for the next ruler. The Qesement Houses ruled first, with the last – House Aranath stepping aside for House Mazorgirm…
With the rise of the Red Age (or the Rule of the Red Wyrm Emperor Mezzenbone, who assumed the Star Throne 42 years ago) the Empire has taken on a much darker tone and outlook. Border disputes and skirmishes are more common, open war exists along much of the Outworld Non-Allied Worlds as the Emperor seeks to quickly expand the borders of ‘his’ new Empire. The Qesement have remained silent and unmoved by these problems; for they ruled for their time, and following the accords, must now sit back. The problems of the lesser races are generally not as important, even to the Good Dragons, as is the social stability of the Empire. After all, it will only be another 5,000 years before the dawning of the next ‘Light’ Age… it is not to long in the lives of the Immortal Dragons.
Races of Dragonstar
Dragons come in the 12 types (although only 10 wield power within the Dragonstar Empire and are part of the Shard-Don Lazzgor’ten); the ‘good’ or light Dragons are (in order of power and influence) Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze, Brass, while those of the ‘dark’ or evil types include the Red, Blue, Black, Green and White Dragons. The two ‘lost’ Dragons, who are all thought to have been killed during the Dragon Wars were the ‘Electrum’ (light) and the ‘Yellow’ (dark) Dragons. Rumors say they still exist, but if so they are very rare indeed. There are suppose to be other kinds of dragons, some for example include the Star and Shadow, but the Lazzgor’ten do not accept these subtypes as true dragons and offer them no special power or prestige.
The 10 Houses of the Lazzgor’ten of the Qesement (Light) and of the Asament (Dark) Courts are Deserene (Gold), Sarava (Silver), Golion (Copper), Handor (Bronze), Aranath (Brass), Mazorgrim (Red), Osorus (Blue), Noros (Black), Esmer (Green), and Ahara (White)
Half-Dragons can come from any mixing of a Trueblood with one of the lesser races. Only the ruling 10 dragon types are commonly found as Half-Dragons within the Empire though.
Of the ‘Common’ Lesser Races they are (in order of numbers, not power) – Orks, Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halfling, Elves, Shifters, Half-Orks and Half-Elves, Changelings, Warforged and finally the Ogres. The Warforged are not really a race onto themselves, having been created to fight wars. When they gained ‘sentience’ some hundred years ago, Emperor Shandeebon (during the Age of Brass) granted them full citizenship of the Lesser Races. They were also giving over the rights of the Forge Worlds where they were created to continue their race with the ‘Forge Furnaces’. No other Forge creation have developed sentience, and the Aristocorps Cannith seems quit determined not to let it happen again (for they lost significant holdings to the Warforged)
Of the ‘Uncommon’ Lesser Races, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types that are acknowledged and accepted within the Empire. But that does not go for all, and there are some ‘banned’ or outlawed Races that are not normally allowed to exist (these include many Aberrant Races such as the Mind Flayer and the incest Forgrim because they insist on eating other sentient races).
Social Standings and Rule in the Empire
As one would expect, Dragons (Truebloods) sit at the top of the political and social structure within the Dragon Empire. They rule through the Ten Shard-Don Lazzgor’ten, or Ruling Houses. Each color of Dragon is a House, with its own internal power structure and independences within the Empire (see above).
Half-Dragons, or Thinbloods, are generally considered the next level of power and rule most of the lesser races directly through political office, heads of the Dragonmark Aristocorps, the bureaucracy and judicial courts. This is not to say that all Thinbloods are afforded the same powers as a full Dragon, nor do all Half-Dragon enjoy the same comforts and rights, but they are generally elevated above the other races.
The next most powerful group is the Dragonmark Aristocorps; made up of those peoples from the different ‘Common’ Lesser Races. Powerful interstellar corporations, they are given wide latitude and autonomy within the Empire, for they provide most if not all of the important goods and services that keep the engines of the society moving forward. It is important to remember that these corporations are rules like fiefdoms by noble and other aristocrats. Not all members of the Dragonmark Aristocorps bare the ‘Dragon-Marks’ that give the houses their names, but all of the leadership and owners generally must.
The Imperial Navy and Marines Legions (often simply called the Militaris) are the next power group within the Empire. While under the direct control of the Emperor and Sector Dragonlords, the Militaris Legions are given fairly wide ranging powers in the Outworlds and in rebellious regions of the Empire. The third branch of the Militaris, the Imperial Army or Planetary Guard is the weaknesses in power of the three and are generally limited to one planet or system for their power base and fairly defused throughout the Empire.
The Bureaucracy or Administrous Guilds are the next most powerful as they see to the daily running of the Empire, and perform all the functions to keep everything moving. As one might imagine, it is a huge monolith organization, with offices on every world if not every city on every world within the Empire. They are also normally in charge of record keeping and data-collection, and there is truly a mountain of inform available and it grows every day. It could be argued that are at least as powerful as the Militaris and may wield more then the Aristocorps in some areas, but most people who not think so until they have to deal with them.
Another group of power is the Imperial Judicial Courts, or the Canonicus, who are not as large as any of the others, but their voices are often heard quite loudly. While the Lesser races have little recourse against the rules of their lives, the courts do remain a small area where they might be at least considered and heard.
A group that fits in somewhere around here is the ISED or Imperial Special Enforcement Directorate, a group created by the Red Emperor… his not so ‘secret police’. Among the Lesser Races, they are given a great deal of latitude to investigate and rout out insurrection and crime. Most members are Dark Elves and to a lesser extent Humans, and wear badges called ‘Malicious’ Seal of Authority to identify themselves.
Two criminal organizations also fit in somewhere around this level of power (although some say they are far more influential then most in the Empire wish to believe) the Crimson Night Syndicate (focused on smuggling and pirates) and the Black Hole Exchange (focused more on planetary criminal actively like extortion, burglary, etc). The leadership and organizational activities of these groups is fairly secret, but these are interstellar criminal organizations with far reaching wealth and influence.
The Noble Lords and Houses of the Lesser Races fit into the mix just below those mentioned above, as they are given some latitude and autonomy in ruling over their own lands, so long as their taxes are paid and order is maintained (on the surface at least). It is from this group that the strongest and growing resistance to the Empire is burning… seeking greater freedoms or power, many of the Lesser Races (especially the Common Races). The most powerful Human Houses are the Hawkthorne, Dialak, La-Pendar, Quilest, and SwordWorlds. The Houses of the Dwarfs’ include the Ten Fathers, IronHands, and HammerWorlds. The Elf Houses include Star and Fey Courts. Gnomes include Houses Gridmind, Scavengers & Seekers, and House Truth. Halflings have only one House called Tamear. The Warforged have two primary Houses – House Steel and House Metal. Orks and Ogres share the weak houses of House Wild-Lands and WarHusk, while Shifters have only the BeastLords. Changelings are only barely tolerated and hold no House of their own. It should be notes that NOT all races serve in their race’s House, and many serve in a different House, or Dragonmark Aristocorps, the Militaris Legions, or are Independent, etc. These Houses only wield power on their homeworlds and in some part of the Empire.
About on par with the power of the Lesser Houses is the Unified Church, which holds a great deal of power and influence over its followers, but is limited in what it can ‘impose’. One note of course is that the Empire is very tolerant of and from religion and the Church is not allowed to force those who choice not to believe.
Then there are the local and regional governors and local power structure that includes Enforcers and local government officials (governors, mayors, city council, postal workers, etc). Their power is generally limited, not only to the region of authority but also in what they can impose onto the local Lesser Races.
The independents, free traders, freeborn and travelers come next, and have a great deal of freedom of movement and ability to own what they can afford. They don’t have any real power over anyone except their own lives (and for most that is more then enough).
Next to the bottom, but not quite there are the normal citizens, the non-Dragonmark factory workers and secretaries and office workers, space-hands and data-entry specialist. There lives are dominated by their work, getting up everyday to be able to afford to live within the Empire. Most are hardworking, honest and insular; caring little about anyone but their own family and friends.
At the bottom of the social help are the peasants, serfs, slaves, the unemployable and the illegal (criminals who have charges already imposed onto them). Depending on where they are this can be a fairly pleasant life, where they are guarantees certain rights and protections that their Dragon masters provided them… or it can be a never ending hopeless existence of work and pain and fear (especially in Asament space).
Technomagic and Arcane Mechanikas
In the Galaxy of Dragonstar, normal technological and mechanical inventions are uncommon. Technomagic, or technology powered by and created by magic is the norm. They still have cars, and slugthrowning assault rifles and starships and toaster ovens, but these items were created through the use of mechanika engineering and technomagic theory. Most items have a more ‘organic’ or ‘low-tech’ feel and look then what we might be use to, but it functions just as well, if not better.
Communication between the stars is achieved through Crystal-Shard message and image Pods with the aid of mechanika machines boosters, while on a world or within a single Stellar System, mana-powered Radio and Messer signals waves are used. Entertainment in the form of Holo-projected crystals, much like modern TV and Radio, is very popular and readily available on Core Worlds. Handheld Data-Scrolls can store huge amounts of information and can beam this to each other or less mobile stations, call Data-Stores; something akin to a computer work station, variant in size depending on its powers and storage capacity, but often look more like Pyramids or large dark colored Dragonshard crystals. Spellware is a process that is used to create mystical organs and runic treatments that can modify the body, much like what cyberware might one day provide, and are powered by the recipients' own internal ‘divine spark’. Slugthrower pistols look something like a cross between a modern pistol and a musket pistol, covered in etched runes and use enchanted smoke-powder to ‘throw’ a metal ‘slug’. Lasguns and Blasters are more sleek and modern looking, with Dragonshard crystal enchantments to power them, but also made from mithral and strange woods. Robots and Androids are called Forged and are made from metal, wood and alchemist material, bond and woven together. Magebreed Animals are also created using extensive technomagical processes that increases their intelligence, natural abilities and loyalty to their master. While a landcar would be made mostly of wood and iron and powered by the alchemist elixir called Eber Oil. Even modern clothing includes large mechanika textile mills that can weave shadows and pure colors into physical cloth, called Shadowweave and Pureweave. Traditional magical items, such as a sword or axe still exist, but with a more mechanika feel and look to them. Starships often are sleek and organic looking, powered by huge refined Dragonshards power-plants, and covered with runic protections and operations. The StarCaster, the devices that allows Star-Travel to exist, is a huge circler orb, golden in color and trapped within a magnetic-lightning field. Fueled by ‘Liquid Orichalcum’, it can create a jump-gateway between two points that ‘folds’ space and allow a ship to cover huge stellar distances in an instant.
Basic Religion of Dragonstar
Most people of the Dragonstar Empire follow the Unified Church (also called the Church of the Pan-creation of 12 Disciplines), or more importantly one of the Gods or Goddess as their Patron religion. These gods run the gambit from good to evil, but the Church teaches that they are all important and there’re strict laws within the Empire to assure that all are observed and not repressed.
The base 12 Gods or Disciplines of the Unified Church are – the Destroyer (Evil), the Father (Good), the Judge (Law), the Lover (Peace), the Magus (Arcane), the Merchant (Trade), the Mother (Creation/Birth), the Reaper (Death), the Stormlord (Nature), the Smith (Craft), the Trickster (Chaos), and the Warrior (War)
That is not to say that everyone follows these ideas, there are a number of ‘heretical’ practices that are often pursued by the Church. The largest of these heretical groups is the Dualist Heresy. They see not 12 gods and goddess, but instead only two – the Creator and the Adversary. The other main heretical group are those that follow the ‘Old Faith’, rejecting the ‘gods’ as it were and instead focus on the elemental forces of the Universe as the true creators of life. Called Druids, they are afforded more rights and freedoms then those of the Dualist Heresy as freedom ‘from’ religion is also a strong law within the Empire (the main reason that the Church is allow to persecute the Dualist is that they do not reject the Church, they are actually ‘changing’ it).
There are other, smaller religions also that are afforded these protections to exist within the Empire. Followers of the Silver-Flame, for example, hail form Helios IV where a large ‘eternal flame’ is said to house their god. The Dark Elfs follow a goddess that combines aspects of the Destroyer and the Mother, calling her the Spinner, the Spider-Mother, and the Eight Eyes of Decay.
Common Planetary Types of the Empire
There are literally thousands of ‘Core’ worlds (worlds recognized as part of the Empire) within the Dragonstar Empire, and more being added every day. They can often be broken down into few different types of worlds; some examples…
*Throneworlds – there are technically only 11 Throneworlds within the Dragon Empire, one for each of the ten great houses, and Draconis Prime, the world where the Dragon Emperor sits upon the Star Throne. The other Throneworlds are Galadar (Gold), Aelding (Silver), Meneer (Copper), Endagar (Bronze), Ambrant (Brass), Arangorn (Red), Thormorath (Blue), Morngond (Black), Malaval (Green) and Rilion (White).
*First or Primitus Worlds – full member worlds, they vary greatly in what they might look like, but generally have high techomagical levels and protective rights within the Empire. Some are ‘world-cities’ covered completely by huge towers (called Hive-Habs) made of adamantine and mithral that shore miles into the sky, while others are ‘preserved-worlds’ (especially among the Elfs), where there are heavy restrictions on industry and population growth and the planet is kept in a pristine condition.
*Obduros Worlds – partial member worlds within the Empire, these planets are either technomagically pre-Stellar, under Imperial Edict of Insurrection, or are only recently colonized worlds (and hence have limited resources or independence). The citizens often have limited rights within the Empire and restrictions on their travel and what can be imported.
*Forge Worlds – sometimes whole planets have been given over to various Technomagic and Arcane Mechanikas Industry, covering the world with the poisonous smoke from the fires of the great forge furnaces. The citizens most often live in seal Habs, venturing out only with Breather masks and Toxiweave cloaks, except for those worlds given over to Warforged who near not worry about such things. Most of these worlds produce little to no food and are dependent on imports to feed its workers.
*Agrow Worlds – specializing in the production of the food stuffs that feed the rest of the Empire, these worlds come in many forms; like the water world of Poseidon Home which fishes and exports thousands of tons of seafood each day, or Rook’s Reach which is a major producer of grain and wheat stuff, and Hardin Plains with is huge plains raise all kinds of herd animal meats.
*Pleasure Worlds – another specialized world, that sole or major productions value is the importation of tourists. The most famous are Gladiolus Prime, renowned for its gladiator fighting pits and arenas, and Iucunditas Seven, know for its sensual pleasure houses that can meet any ‘need’ or desire. Natteen Sellacore is also well know simply for the majestic beauty of its great mountains, waterfalls, pristine forests and crystal clear and clean green-blue oceans and is a destination of many tourists groups.
*Militaris Worlds – those worlds that are under the complete control of one of the Military Branches, and serve as training grounds and weapon testing fields. Travel and trade to these worlds is heavily restricted by the Militaris Legion Orders. Most of these worlds have few if any native sentient life, and have never been colonized.
Some Non-Core Worlds examples…
*Claustrum Worlds – below the Obduros Worlds, the Claustrum or Prison Worlds exist only under special Imperial Edicts, mostly found within Asament space or in Outworld space (space outside the Empire). Nothing expect prisoners and occasional food-stuffs is allowed too be imported (and only under special Imperial licensing) and nothing is ever exported from these worlds.
*Dead Worlds – destroyed during the Dragon Wars or Ancient Wars or some other long forgotten outbreak, these worlds are under ‘Imperial Interdico’, meaning that it is illegal to even enter their star system. It is said that the Dragon’s are either ashamed of what they did to these worlds or that weapons and experiments that went wrong still lurk on them waiting to escape. Some examples include the Ghoul World Systems (within the Empires’ borders) and the Necron Gulf (outside the Empires’ borders).
*Outworlds – any worlds outside the Empire that can have almost any range of techomagic, from the primitive too near Stellar Alliances. These worlds have little to no protection against the threat of Imperial Invasion, especially in the Red Age. While some might be interested in joining the Empire, it is totally dependent on the wimps of the present Emperor. Others, who might not want to be a part of the Empire try and hide themselves, wishing to have nothing to do with the Dragonlords. But most are totally ignorant of the Empire and the wider stellar galaxy… thinking their world is unique or alone in the heavens.
The premise for my game – the game will start in the ‘Guff of Light’ Outworlds Star Cluster, out-space bordering both House Aranath (Brass) and Noros (Black) sectors*. These semi-independent systems have been under the threat of invasion by the Black Militaris Legions (sponsored by the Red Emperor) for almost 10 years now, and have suffered multiple raids from the Dark Nebula by various aberrations and even the Forgrim (commonly called ‘Clicks’ by most people for the strange noises that is believed to make up their language). The government has started hiring a number of sell-swords too help protect themselves. The Bronze Half-Dragon Captain Pellas el’Roun is the leader of a collection of starships that operate throughout the systems. He commands from the converted Corvette Cruiser-class craft ‘the Azure Ranger’ and the characters are crew-members on one of the scores of smaller ships and soldiers working to protect the peoples of this region. Many dangers lurk on these worlds and heroes are needed now more then ever... adventures might include rescuing hostages, investigating lost mining outposts that have gone silent, seeking out and destroying pirate havens and ships, opposing the Black Militaris Legion Expeditionary Forces and ISED agents, repealing invaders such as the Forgrim or Necron League (undead fanatics hailing from the Necron Gulf), etc.
*Yes I know I switched the location of White and Black for my game
Brutorz Bill
First Post
We were going to play it, even made up characters, but the whole group has had such fun playing Castles & Crusades they voted to start up a new C&C Campaign instead.
Karl Green
First Post
So as I continue to move forward with this setting, one thing that I am super-duper stuck on is the system... mostly cause I have to many systems and I want to use them all
Right now my choses are (NOT in order of what I want to do)...
1.) D&D3.5 with the Eberron books. I will need to do some work to update to bring Dragonstar up to 3.5
2.) Grim Tales with D20 Future (and the Eberron books). I like this idea a lot, especially as I want to shorten the list of Skills
3.) True20 (with the Companion)
4.) GURPS (cause I am a nut-job and really like these rules)
I will post some of my ideas sometime as I flesh them out so people can tell me "Boo" or "Ya" or something
Right now my choses are (NOT in order of what I want to do)...
1.) D&D3.5 with the Eberron books. I will need to do some work to update to bring Dragonstar up to 3.5
2.) Grim Tales with D20 Future (and the Eberron books). I like this idea a lot, especially as I want to shorten the list of Skills
3.) True20 (with the Companion)
4.) GURPS (cause I am a nut-job and really like these rules)
I will post some of my ideas sometime as I flesh them out so people can tell me "Boo" or "Ya" or something
FunkBGR
Explorer
I recently completed a "Night Below" 2e -> 3rd Ed game, where I converted some on the fly, and threw in all kinds of stuff.
Dragonstar was one of them. It was really easy to take the stuff from Dragonstar, and when I threw in the Illithiad 3rd book and replace the phlogiston / whatever with actual space.
I use this to explain alternate "primes" in my campaign world, where different rules apply.
Should I ever run Expedition to Barrier Peaks, or the boxed set with robots (Tale of the Comet?) you can bet I'm going to remove silly elements and replace them with Dragonstar.
Storyteller - as I'm sure others have done, consider some of your stuff *yoink*'d!
Dragonstar was one of them. It was really easy to take the stuff from Dragonstar, and when I threw in the Illithiad 3rd book and replace the phlogiston / whatever with actual space.
I use this to explain alternate "primes" in my campaign world, where different rules apply.
Should I ever run Expedition to Barrier Peaks, or the boxed set with robots (Tale of the Comet?) you can bet I'm going to remove silly elements and replace them with Dragonstar.
Storyteller - as I'm sure others have done, consider some of your stuff *yoink*'d!
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
Random thought
I once made a charecter for DS...and then never used it. And I sitll regret it.
But skimming this thread got me thinking...a great way to use would be in a long running D&D campaign. Sort of like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks...but taken to the next level.
(Edit) HAH: then I just read the previous post, talking just about that. Well, I, er, concur.
I once made a charecter for DS...and then never used it. And I sitll regret it.
But skimming this thread got me thinking...a great way to use would be in a long running D&D campaign. Sort of like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks...but taken to the next level.
(Edit) HAH: then I just read the previous post, talking just about that. Well, I, er, concur.
Karl Green
First Post
I re-worked the premiss for my upcoming game as follows...
DRAGONSTAR “The Guff of Light Campaign”
Pirates and Slavers, Aberration Hunter-Killer Squads, Nekrull Undead Cult Raiders, Forgrim Hive invasions, incursions by the dreaded White Militaris Legions (the so called ‘Icestorm Legion’) and espionage by the Red Emperor’s own Imperial Special Enforcement Directorate (or ISED, the not so secret dark elf secret police)… these are only a few of the dark forces aligned against the Guff of Light Confederated Worlds.
Bordering the realm of both House Aranath (Brass) and Ahara (White) sectors (about 20 light years outside either frontier), they have no protection afforded an Imperial World. And so they sent out a plea – for sellswords and mercenaries, paladins and poetics, opportunists and do-gooders, and anyone else whom might answer their calls – too help their worlds against this growing dread. One of the first to answer was the Bronze Half-Dragon, Captain Pellas el’Roun, and now from his converted Corvette Cruiser-class starcraft ‘the Azure Range’, he commands a rag-tag collection of mercs that operate throughout the Guff.
You are the newest recruits to this endeavor in these so-called Outworlds. Bringing your own small ship and crew, you have been assigned to the Rim-world side of the Guff, to patrol and protect the people with your lone ship… but that is all these people have. Good luck hero…
And I am still playing around with a system that I would like to use... I picked up AFMBE - All Tomorrow's Zombies the other day and really like a lot of that systems stuff. I also thought about Mutants and Masterminds 2nd ed where I could write up some Racial Templates and have some 'Career' ideas (not templates, just "here is what common skills this group has, etc) and then do a few Weapons, Spellware, and Starship to sort of set the 'base' and let the players come up with most of the rest on their own... so I would not have to work that hard on it not sure yet... arg... to many systems that I love, not enough time
DRAGONSTAR “The Guff of Light Campaign”
Pirates and Slavers, Aberration Hunter-Killer Squads, Nekrull Undead Cult Raiders, Forgrim Hive invasions, incursions by the dreaded White Militaris Legions (the so called ‘Icestorm Legion’) and espionage by the Red Emperor’s own Imperial Special Enforcement Directorate (or ISED, the not so secret dark elf secret police)… these are only a few of the dark forces aligned against the Guff of Light Confederated Worlds.
Bordering the realm of both House Aranath (Brass) and Ahara (White) sectors (about 20 light years outside either frontier), they have no protection afforded an Imperial World. And so they sent out a plea – for sellswords and mercenaries, paladins and poetics, opportunists and do-gooders, and anyone else whom might answer their calls – too help their worlds against this growing dread. One of the first to answer was the Bronze Half-Dragon, Captain Pellas el’Roun, and now from his converted Corvette Cruiser-class starcraft ‘the Azure Range’, he commands a rag-tag collection of mercs that operate throughout the Guff.
You are the newest recruits to this endeavor in these so-called Outworlds. Bringing your own small ship and crew, you have been assigned to the Rim-world side of the Guff, to patrol and protect the people with your lone ship… but that is all these people have. Good luck hero…
And I am still playing around with a system that I would like to use... I picked up AFMBE - All Tomorrow's Zombies the other day and really like a lot of that systems stuff. I also thought about Mutants and Masterminds 2nd ed where I could write up some Racial Templates and have some 'Career' ideas (not templates, just "here is what common skills this group has, etc) and then do a few Weapons, Spellware, and Starship to sort of set the 'base' and let the players come up with most of the rest on their own... so I would not have to work that hard on it
not sure yet... arg... to many systems that I love, not enough time
Johnny Angel
Explorer
I ran a brief DragonStar scenario, but it seems to me that the tech weapons were incredibly powerful. I didn't see any variant Monster Manual, but it seems to me that the beholder's anti-magic ray doesn't mean as much if the whole party can fire shoulder-mounted missile launchers (which scenario, by the way, I'm excited to even contemplate). Of course, what I'd prefer to do is not sweat it and let the players blast away with crazy high-power weapons with abandon. But the d20 designers did go to some trouble to try and make Encounter Level vs. Party Level comparable. I feel like I should give some consideration to that rather than simply popping kobold heads with lasers with utter impugnity.
Pagan priest
First Post
Beholders have the ability to use charm person and charm monster, thus they have minions to deal with thoe pesky missle launching clowns.Johnny Angel said:
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