TEXT: Traveller
  
  Alien Module 3: Darrians ©2010 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is 
  expressly forbidden. All significant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing.
  This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the Open 
  Game License, please go to www.mongoosepublishing.com.
   
  This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom and of the United States. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, 
  organisations, places or events is purely coincidental.
  Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under licence. Printed in the USA.
  Credits
  Original Darrians Alien Module
  Marc W. Miller, Robert Parker, Nancy Parker and Matt Renner. 
  Mongoose traveller 
  Author
  Pete Nash
  Editor
  Charlotte Law
  Layout
  Will Chapman
  Proofreader
  Nick Robinson
  Cover Illustration
  Ben Wooten
  Interior Illustrations
  John Koelepp, Dan Masso, Sara Forlenza & Danilo Guida
  Deckplans
  Mark Lucas
  Special Thanks
  Don McKinney
  Contents
  Introduction 
  2
  Darrian Characters 
  3
  The Darrian Race 
  30
  Darrian History 
  49
  Darrian Secrets 
  62
  Darrian Equipment 
  71
  Darrian Spacecraft 
  84
  Darrian Encounters 
  106
  Darrian Worlds 
  122
  Darrian Campaigns 
  160
  Index 
  167
  
  2
  introduCtion
  The Darrians are a race of independently evolved humans who 
  pursue scholastic learning, using their knowledge to maintain 
  a peaceful empire of advanced technology. Despite their 
  diplomatic tendencies, the Darrians are renown throughout the 
  Third Imperium, not for who they are or where they are located 
  but simply because they hold the most powerful destructive 
  weapon in the known universe – the Star Trigger.
  Ostensibly the Darrians are considered a minor race due to the 
  fact that they were introduced to space travel when their home 
  world was settled by a group of Solomani refugees. Yet their 
  unique culture and dedication towards study, allowed them to 
  briefly achieve a pinnacle of technological advancement, which 
  has yet to be matched by any other existing race or empire. 
  Tragically at the height of their accomplishments, the Darrian 
  Confederation suffered a disaster of incomprehensible scale. 
  During a study of their home star, they inadvertently generated 
  an unprecedented solar flare – sending out an EMP shockwave 
  so strong, that not only did it destroy all the delicate electronics 
  within the solar system but continued travelling onwards to 
  the neighbouring stars. This was followed by a Coronal Mass 
  Ejection, a secondary wave of plasma erupted from the star’s 
  surface, which boiled the seas and superheated the atmosphere 
  of the homeworld. The ecological and technological damage 
  reduced the Darrians to a pre-spaceflight level of technology, 
  which has taken nearly two millennia to recover from. Despite 
  this, the Confederation has once again clawed its way back 
  to the forefront of technological development, using many of 
  the artefacts from previous accomplishments to rediscover 
  principles it had once mastered.
  Utilising this book, the Darrian race can be incorporated into 
  campaigns whether as a source of advanced equipment or a 
  veritable gold mine of scenario ideas. Included are rules for 
  generating characters, lists of patrons, organisations to fall afoul 
  of and even cutting edge ships. It provides the Referee and 
  the players with sufficient information to interact with Darrian 
  society and acts as a guide for Player Characters.
  Unlike the aliens in other books of this series, Darrians are 
  close to the human norm, both physically and psychologically. 
  However, they still have cultural tendencies that can make them 
  slightly confusing to the more mainline cultures of the Imperium. 
  Such social traits serve to make this offshoot of humanity an 
  unusual and unique race to play, especially in its quests for 
  knowledge over the more usual human interests of power or 
  wealth.
  The Darrians hold a modest Confederation in the Darrian 
  Subsector of the Spinward Marches, neatly sandwiched 
  between the Zhodani Consulate and the Sword Worlds. With 
  only the Star Trigger, their ultimate weapon of retaliation, 
  keeping them safe from invasion the Darrians have formed a 
  close relationship with the nearby Imperium exchanging trade 
  and access to research studies for military aid.
  This book takes the original Darrian material produced for 
  Traveller and expands upon it, updating certain elements of 
  their history and culture for additional enjoyment, and to account 
  for more modern scientific knowledge. To save unnecessary 
  confusion discerning between the race, confederation and 
  planet, the author has chosen to call the world of Darrian by its 
  original native name of Daryen throughout the book.
  
  3
  darrian CharaCters
  Character generation for Darrians is the same procedure as 
  for human characters in Traveller. However, several changes 
  are involved to take into account physiological and cultural 
  differences between Darrian characters and humans.
  Initial Character Generation
  Darrian characters, like most races, are basically defined by 
  six personal characteristics: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, 
  Intelligence, Education and Social Standing. 
  Due to their evolution on a low gravity world, Darrians are, on 
  the average, weaker and frailer than humans. Their reduced 
  body mass however, makes them a little faster and more 
  agile. Intelligence and education are superior due to cultural 
  conditioning. Since Darrians are a fairly egalitarian civilisation, 
  Social Standing usually refers to their status in academic and 
  research circles.
  To generate Darrian characteristics, throw each characteristic 
  in succession: Strength (2D6-2), Dexterity (2D6+1), Endurance 
  (2D6-2), Intelligence (2D6+1), Education (2D6+2) and Social 
  Standing (2D6). The lower limit on characteristics is 1 (below 1 
  can happen only temporarily from wounding); the upper limit is 
  15 plus or minus the characteristic modifier.
  darrian Citizen CharaCteristiC Modifiers
  Characteristic
  Native Darrian
  Str
  –2
  Dex
  +1
  End
  -2
  Int
  +1
  Edu
  +2
  Soc
  —
  Average height for pure-blooded Darrians is between 2.1 and 
  2.3 metres. Those with recent Solomani genes in their ancestry 
  reach between 2.0 and 2.2 metres tall. Darrians growing up on 
  planets with higher gravity than Daryen have their height ranges 
  reduced by 3cm per 0.1g difference. Those brought up on worlds 
  of over 0.7g reduce the Strength and Endurance penalties by 
  1, but also lose their Dexterity bonus due to increased muscle 
  mass.
  Traits
  Darrians have slightly better hearing and vision than humans, 
  giving them a +1 DM to any Recon or Survival checks involving 
  these senses. Wide pelvic structures give Darrian females less 
  chance of birth complications but make balancing upon narrow 
  beams or ledges more difficult.
  Darrians 
  are 
  genetically 
  predisposed 
  towards 
  water 
  conservation, sweating far less than humans and possessing 
  white or light toned hair combined with a slightly reflective, gold 
  coloured skin; both of which help reflect excess heat. Additionally 
  the golden protremelanin pigmentation protects against high 
  levels of ultraviolet radiation. Darrians are also able to adjust 
  their core temperatures via unconscious metabolic control and 
  are therefore more comfortable in colder climates.
  Another Darrian trait is their ability to safely metabolise Ozone, 
  normally mildly poisonous to humans, due to a naturally 
  occurring retrovirus present on thier homeworld.
  Gender 
  Darrian society has sexual equality. Darrian men are as likely to 
  stay at home to raise children as women and wages are based 
  on capability and knowledge, not gender. However, although 
  every career is open to both sexes, certain professions do 
  exhibit gender bias; the professional armed forces being one 
  notable example. Men tend to dominate close combat troops 
  whereas women prefer naval service.
  Family and Ancestral Respect
  Due to their extended life spans, Darrian families can be 
  sprawling complex affairs. Depending on resources and living 
  space available on their home world, Darrian parents usually 
  produce between two and three children. 
  Assuming that characters have not yet settled down to start their 
  own family, players can use the following tables to generate an 
  idea of the number and state of their immediate relatives.
  Roll 2d6
  Grandparents
  2–3
  Both dead
  4–5
  Grandmother alive
  6–8
  Both alive
  9–10
  Grandfather alive
  11–12
  Both dead
  Roll 2d6
  Parents
  2
  Both dead
  3–4
  Father alive
  5–9
  Both alive
  10–11
  Mother Alive
  12
  Both dead
  The character should then work out how many siblings they 
  have and where they came in the sequence. Roll a d6 twice 
  and cross reference the results.
  
  Darrian
  Human
  4
  d6
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  Single child
  Single child
  Single child
  Single child
  Single child
  Single child
  2
  Single child
  One sibling, first 
  born
  One sibling, first 
  born
  One sibling, first 
  born
  One sibling, first 
  born
  One sibling, first 
  born
  3
  One sibling, 
  first born
  One sibling, 
  second born
  One sibling, 
  second born
  One sibling, second 
  born
  One sibling, 
  second born
  One sibling, second 
  born
  4
  One sibling, 
  second born
  Two siblings, first 
  born
  Two siblings, first 
  born
  Two siblings, first 
  born
  Two siblings, first 
  born
  Two siblings, second 
  born
  5
  Two siblings, 
  second born
  Two siblings, 
  second born
  Two siblings, 
  second born
  Two siblings, third 
  born
  Two siblings, third 
  born
  Two siblings, third 
  born
  6
  Two siblings, 
  third born
  Three siblings, 
  first born
  Three siblings, 
  second born
  Three siblings, third 
  born
  Three siblings, 
  fourth born
  Five siblings, roll 1d6 
  for birth order
  To add a little mystery to the family, roll up to three times on 
  the family deeds table. The first roll concerns the deeds of the 
  grandparents, the second to the parents and the third to any 
  siblings. 
  Starting Age
  Darrian characters begin their careers at 18 years of age. At this 
  point, they have the mandatory choices of either entering an 
  advanced post-graduate education or joining one of the military 
  branches. The first four year term must be spent completing this 
  service, before a Darrian is allowed to continue with a career 
  more conducive to their interests. 
  Naming Customs
  Every Darrian has three names; the family name, the birth 
  name and the taken name.
  Family names are passed down from the father. They cannot 
  be changed for any reason, not even for marriage into another 
  family. They generally refer to an object or phenomenon in the 
  natural world. This can range from animals or plants, to types of 
  weather or eclipses.
  Birth names are granted exclusively by the mother, although 
  most wives consult with their husbands prior to the naming in 
  
  5
  order to avoid undue irritation for disliked names. Birth names 
  are granted soon after birth, due to an unspoken superstition 
  that the name moulds the child to be. These names generally 
  describe a personal characteristic (expressed or to be hoped 
  for) or a type of flowering plant. The child is addressed and 
  known by this name until it reaches its age of majority.
  Taken names are what the youth chooses for themselves, once 
  they have graduated to adulthood. From this point onwards the 
  Darrian is known by this name, usually based on something 
  greatly significant to the individual. It can literally be anything, 
  from the name of an ancestor or great scientist, to a type of 
  career or philosophical ideal. Whatever is selected normally 
  provides an insight into the psyche of the Darrian and can be 
  quite subtle or possess many levels of interpretation.
  Only family members or friends address a Darrian by their 
  taken name only. Formal address is used by strangers, work 
  companions or social services, comprising of the family name 
  and taken name combined. The full three name version is only 
  ever used for legal documentation or civic records.
  Titles
  Darrians do not have titles in the sense of Imperium nobility, 
  since such archaic feudal posturing is the antithesis of Darrian 
  egalitarian society. Any Darrian granted an Imperial title cannot 
  use it within the Confederation where it carries no weight; but 
  might utilise it at diplomatic events where representatives of the 
  Imperium may be present.
  Darrians with high Social Standing are recognised for their 
  contributions to academia. These are often based on (once) 
  holding an administrative position at a university or by making 
  important discoveries which furthered their subject. Attaining 
  such a title does not require the scholar to be well versed in 
  scholarly skills (although it helps) but rather reflects the efforts 
  made by the Darrian to support and further the course of 
  knowledge as a whole – by funding, volunteer teaching, revising 
  historical data or even editorial work on research papers! 
  Most honorary titles are granted from the university that they 
  attended during their education, in order to reflect well upon 
  the institution. The number of titles granted however, is strictly 
  controlled by the Confederation Ministry of Information. 
  Holders of official titles are treated with respect in Darrian 
  society but gain few benefits beyond that. Some titled scholars 
  in administrative positions use their Social Standing to find 
  better funding, request new equipment or simply to be promoted 
  into more prestigious university or corporate posts. 
  Roll 2d6
  Family Deeds
  2
  Relative is (or was) stripped of their citizenship and exiled from the Confederation for committing a terrible 
  crime, bringing shame and stigma to the family. Roll 1d6:
  1. Relative was a murderer.
  2. Relative claimed a rival’s scientific discoveries as his own.
  3. Relative spied for the Sword Worlds.
  4. Relative was designing bioweapons.
  5. Relative experimented on sophonts. 
  6. Relative sold scientific secrets to the Zhodani.
  3
  Relative made an important scientific breakthrough of great benefit to society.
  4
  Relative disappeared in unusual circumstances, with no warning and no record of leaving planet.
  5
  Relative is a founding member of a major corporation.
  6
  Relative has a well publicised addiction.
  7
  Relative has travelled extensively outside of the Confederation.
  8
  Relative was lampooned Confederation-wide for precipitating an infamous accident by their crass stupidity.
  9
  Relative is a famous author who has sold millions of copies of their work.
  10
  Relative had their educational qualifications stripped for cheating.
  11
  Relative uncovered a priceless artefact of archaeological or historical import.
  12
  Relative is (or was) a lauded hero of the Confederation. Roll 1d6:
  1. Relative discovered a vaccine to cure an ancient plague.
  2. Uncovered a Zhodani plot against the Confederation.
  3. Made a daring freefall leap to rescue children trapped in a falling grav car.
  4. Braved a fatal radiation leak, to shut down a power plant going critical.
  5. Rammed a cargo hauler into a suicide ship on collision course with a space station.
  6. Relative took out a Sword World platoon single handed in the Fourth Frontier War.
  
  6
  darrian titles
  Social Standing
  Title
  10
  Pedagogue
  11
  Preceptor
  12
  Adept
  13
  Doyen
  14
  Master
  15
  Savant
  Intellectual achievement has its own titles. Any character with 
  an Education of 10+ may request to be addressed as Professor. 
  Those with an Education of 12+ are addressed as Emeritus 
  Professor.
  ability to function in Darrian society or have atrophied from lack 
  of application.
  Characters use the normal rules for generation from the 
  Traveller Core Rulebook.
  Aging
  Darrian aging is the same as for ‘standard’ humans in its 
  onset, but generally less severe. The first roll on the aging 
  table is made at age 34 (after four terms of service have been 
  completed); thereafter, it is checked every four years, and half 
  the character’s number of terms served is applied as a negative 
  DM to the 2d6 roll. 
  Referees worried about the generation of excessively skilled 
  characters should place their own limit on the number of terms 
  served.
  Benefits
  The armour and weapons provided on the benefits table do 
  not include powered armour (Battle Dress), plasma/fusion 
  weapons or light support weaponry. Such equipment is never 
  allowed out of military control. Other munitions are granted to 
  retiring military or law enforcement personnel in the implicit 
  understanding that they are only for civil defence purposes, if 
  and when the character is recalled to service.
  Vehicles gained as benefits are limited to civilian transports. 
  Unless directly related to a space faring career, ship shares are 
  very rarely handed out as benefits. 
  Private ownership of vessels is somewhat contrary to Darrian 
  philosophy, since wealth should be more evenly distributed 
  across society to prevent cultural stress. Ships tend to be 
  owned by businesses, universities or government agencies and 
  are loaned out as necessary to responsible crews with up to 
  date crew licences.
  darrian aslan CharaCters
  A significant portion of the Darrian population 
  is Aslan. Those socially integrated into the 
  Confederation are created as if they were racial 
  Darrians, using the following characteristic rolls 
  if originating from a world with a gravity of 0.7g 
  or lower; which the majority of the worlds in the 
  Confederation are.
  Characteristic
  Native Darrian
  Str
  2D6+1
  Dex
  2D6-1
  End
  2D6
  Int
  2D6
  Edu
  2D6+1
  Soc
  2D6
  Darrian Aslan characters may join any career that a 
  racial Darrian can join, though most Aslan still tend 
  to unconsciously follow gender traits. Darrian Aslan 
  characters may acquire Melee (Claw) as a legitimate 
  melee skill. Aslan from the more traditional world of 
  Roget, may also choose careers and options given 
  in the Alien Module 1: Aslan book.
  Careers froM other traveller Books
  Darrians living in the Imperium or in other human-
  dominated societies may use the basic Traveller 
  careers instead. Most such individuals are exiles or 
  children of exiles. However, many Darrians decide to 
  leave the safety of the Confederation and seek their 
  fortunes elsewhere. For example, while fairly rare, it 
  is not unknown for individual Darrians to join a branch 
  of the Imperial military or civil administrations. Such 
  service is accepted by the Confederation, because 
  of the experiences and different viewpoints that are 
  brought back when they eventually return.
  Background Skills
  In addition to the 3 + your Education DM background skills 
  gained from homeworld and education, a Darrian gains an 
  additional Science skill, selected from: Life Science 0, Physical 
  Science 0, Social Science 0 or Space Science 0. This reflects 
  the more intense and broader base of study prevalent in Darrian 
  society.
  Careers
  Darrians lack a few careers common to other cultures; namely 
  nobility, rogues and scouts. These professions either have no 
  
  7
  Careers
  Career
  Specialisation
  Qualification
  Survival
  Advancement
  Agent
  Int 7+
  Police 
  End 6+
  Int 6+
  Intelligence 
  Dex 5+
  Int 7+
  Analyst 
  Int 7+
  Int 5+
  Entertainer
  Int 5+
  Artist 
  Dex 7+
  Edu 5+
  Author  
  Edu 6+
  Int 6+
  Performer 
  Soc 5+
  Int 7+
  Envoy
  Edu 7+
  Advocate
  Soc 5+
  Edu 7+
  Diplomat
  Soc 6+
  Int 6+
  Observer
  Int 7+
  Dex 5+
  Guard
  Str 6+
  Cavalry
  End 6+
  Edu 6+
  Infantry 
  End 5+
  Edu 7+
  Support 
  End 7+
  Edu 5+
  Merchants
  Int 6+ 
  Merchant Marine 
  Edu 5+
  Int 7+
  Free Trader 
  Dex 6+
  Int 6+
  Broker 
  Edu 7+
  Int 5+
  Militia
  End 5+
  Flyer 
  Dex 7+
  Int 5+
  Infantry 
  Str 6+ 
  Edu 6+
  Support 
  End 5+
  Edu 7+
  Navy
  Edu 6+
  Engineering 
  Int 6+
  Edu 6+
  Bridge 
  Edu 5+
  Int 7+
  Marine
  Dex 7+
  Edu 5+
  Scholar
  Edu 7+
  Physician
  Edu 5+
  Soc 7+
  Researcher
  Edu 7+
  Int 5+
  Technician
  Int 6+
  Edu 6+
  Special Arm
  Int 9+
  Commando
  Dex 8+
  Int 6+
  Psion
  Int 7+
  Psi 7+
  Scientist
  Int 6+
  Edu 8+
  Worker
  Edu 5+
  Bureaucratic 
  Int 5+
  Soc 7+
  Corporate 
  Soc 6+
  Int 6+
  Industrial
  End 7+
  Edu 5+
  Wanderer
  Auto
  Drifter 
  Int 7+
  Edu 7+
  Exile
  End 8+
  Int 6+
  Nomad
  Int 6+
  Soc 8+
  Darrian Life Events
  The life events of a Darrian are similar to those of humans. Use the Life Events table on page 34 of the Traveller Core Rulebook. 
  
  8
  agent
  This career embraces all forms of law enforcement, espionage 
  and counter espionage. Darrians are, on the whole, law abiding 
  citizens, so the public presence of law enforcement is minor. 
  Behind the scenes however, the Confederation is a hive of 
  foreign espionage activity, which the Darrians are hard pressed 
  to restrict.
  Qualification: Int 7+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Police: You are a well respected member of the 
  community, using your skills to act as an intermediary in 
  civil disturbances, investigate crimes and control the rare 
  outbreaks of violence. 
  •	
  Intelligence: You are a government sponsored spy who 
  keeps foreign agents under close observation or frequently 
  journey outside the Confederation to keep track of the 
  activities of powers dangerous to Darrian.
  •	
  Analyst: You study collected population, trade and financial 
  data to discover patterns indicating corruption or outright 
  criminal activity, which are given to sociologists to correct 
  or the intelligence agencies to terminate.
  Skills and Training:
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Dex
  Computers
  Admin
  2
  +1 Int
  Investigate
  Comms
  3
  +1 Edu
  Gun Combat (any)
  Computers
  4
  +1 Soc
  Stealth
  Language (any)
  5
  Jack of all Trades
  Athletics (any)
  Science (any)
  6
  Gun Combat (any)
  Streetwise
  Sensors
  Specialist: Police
  Specialist: Intelligence
  Specialist: Analyst
  1
  Drive (any)
  Computers
  Admin
  2
  Melee (any)
  Deception
  Advocate 
  3
  Athletics (any)
  Deception
  Computers
  4
  Recon
  Investigate
  Computers
  5
  Stealth
  Stealth
  Investigate
  6
  Streetwise
  Streetwise
  Social Science (any)
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  A superior officer has you drummed out of service. Gain a Rival.
  3
  Your face is posted by accident whilst undercover and you are forced to retire. Gain 1 Social Standing for the 
  notoriety.
  4
  You are accused of tampering with data or evidence. Lose 2 Social Standing. 
  5
  You are blamed for a massive loss of funds in the local branch. You are allowed to continue as an Agent but add 
  10,000 Credits to your debts.
  6
  You are wounded in the line of duty. Roll on the Injury table.
  
  9
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  The governmental officer you are employed by asks you to do something vicious and immoral on his behalf. Go 
  through with it and gain him as an Ally, refuse and he becomes a Rival.
  4
  You have the opportunity to smuggle illegal goods. If you accept, roll Deception 8+. Succeed and gain 3 benefit 
  rolls. Fail and you suffer a –6 DM to your next advancement roll.
  5
  The target of your next investigation is someone you know. Go through with the mission and gain +2 DM on your 
  next Advancement roll but lose one Ally or Contact. If you have no Allies or Contacts to lose, gain an Enemy instead.
  6
  Your most recent case required you to travel outside of the Confederation, exposing you to many different worlds 
  and cultures. Gain either Life Science (any), Recon, Streetwise or Survival.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  Your direct competition in the agency has left himself open for a career crippling move on your part. Do it and ruin 
  his life, gaining +4 DM on your next Advancement roll and gain him as an Enemy.
  9
  You are targeted in a series of vicious assassination attempts by criminals or foreign agents. You may demonstrate 
  heroism or prudence in battle. If you demonstrate heroism, roll Endurance 8+ to avoid being Injured and gain a +2 
  DM to your next Advancement roll. If you cower, roll Stealth 8+ to avoid losing 1 Social Standing. 
  10
  You catch a foreign spy in the act of working mischief. Fight him with any combat skill 8+, rolling on the Injury table 
  if unsuccessful. Success adds +1 to whatever skill you used to defeat him. Alternatively you may help him escape, 
  gaining him as an Ally.
  11
  Your exemplary service has earned you a special commendation. You may choose to leave the Agent career path 
  and join the Special Arm career path without having to pass the Qualification roll.
  12
  Your efforts strike a great blow for Darrian society. You are automatically promoted.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Police
  Skill or Benefit
  Intelligence
  Skill or Benefit
  Analyst
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Officer
  Field Agent
  Deception 1
  Grip
  Computers 1
  2
  Corporal
  Streetwise 1
  3
  Sergeant
  Admin 1
  Special Agent
  Investigate 1
  Specialist
  Comms 1
  4
  Lieutenant
  Crew Leader
  5
  Detective
  Investigate 1
  Assistant Director
  Social Science 1
  6
  Commissioner
  Director
  Leadership 1
  Chief Analyst
  Police
  Intelligence
  Analyst
  Survival
  End 6+
  Dex 7+
  Int 5+
  Advancement
  Int 6+
  Int 5+
  Int 7+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  2,000
  Contact
  2
  4,000
  +1 Int
  3
  6,000
  +1 Edu
  4
  10,000
  Law Enforcement Gear
  5
  15,000
  Weapon and Armour
  6
  25,000
  +1 Social
  7
  50,000
  Combat Implant
  
  10
  entertainer
  Those who follow this career uphold the ancient traditions of 
  Darrian entertainment, to render their perceptions truthfully, to 
  reveal the source of their inspirations and not provoke deliberate 
  offense. The range of Darrian arts are comprehensive, from the 
  simplest songs and dances, to epic historical poetry and the 
  crafting of objects pleasing to eye and touch. 
  Qualification: Int 5+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Artist: You practice a form of physical art that can be 
  detected by the senses, crafting pleasurable objects to 
  be contemplated. Audible art is generally music or songs; 
  olfactory art takes the form of incense or perfumes and 
  so on.
  •	
  Author: You write for a living, whether that is novels, 
  journalistic columns or the creation of fine poetry. 
  •	
  Performer: You are a professional entertainer who 
  specialises in one or more talents such as dancing, playing 
  music, comedy, acting and so on.
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Strength
  Art (any)
  Admin
  2
  +1 Dexterity
  Carouse
  Art (any)
  3
  +1 Intelligence
  Persuade
  Computers
  4
  +1 Education
  Social Science (any)
  Diplomacy
  5
  Carousing 
  Steward
  Language (any)
  6
  Art (any)
  Streetwise
  Social Science (any)
  Specialist: Artist
  Specialist: Author
  Specialist: Performer
  1
  Art (any craft)
  Art (write or compose)
  Art (performance)
  2
  Art (any craft)
  Art (write or compose)
  Art (performance)
  3
  Diplomat
  Computers
  Carouse
  4
  Persuade
  Investigate
  Deception
  5
  Science (any)
  Language (any)
  Persuade
  6
  Trade (art)
  Social Science (any)
  Streetwise
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  2
  You commit a grievous breach of protocol and are outcast. Reduce your Social Standing by 1. 
  3
  Your art becomes the centre of some scandal and you are forced to move to another world. Gain one of Diplomacy 
  1, Flyer 1, Persuade 1 or Streetwise 1.
  4
  You are betrayed by a peer. One of your Contacts or Allies betrays you, ending your career. That Contact or Ally 
  becomes a Rival or Enemy. If you have no Contacts or Allies, then you are betrayed by someone you never saw 
  coming and still gain a Rival or Enemy
  5
  You are forced out because of censorship or controversy. What truth did you get too close to? You gain a +2 DM to 
  the qualification roll for your next career.
  6
  You are embroiled in a rivalry with another official, who ends your career. Gain him as a Rival.
  
  11
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  You uncover an embarrassing secret concerning a Rival. Either trade it for 1d3 extra Benefit rolls and convert the 
  Rival into an Enemy or you may inform the Rival that their secret is out and gain them as an Ally instead.
  4
  You gain a patron in the arts. Gain a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll and a future Contact.
  5
  You are assigned a challenging task. Roll Art, Investigate or Persuade 8+. If you succeed, gain a +2 DM to your 
  next advancement roll. If you fail, you suffer a –2 DM to your next Advancement roll. 
  6
  You are given advanced training in a specialist field. Roll Education 8+ to gain any skill.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  One of your works is especially well received and popular, making you a minor celebrity. Gain a +1 DM to any one 
  Benefit roll.
  9
  You are a part of your homeworld’s celebrity circles. Gain one of Carouse 1, Persuade 1, Steward 1 or a Contact.
  10
  Long hours spent studying for a piece you want to create or perform broadens your mind. Gain either +1 Edu or 
  one level of any Science skill.
  11
  You go on a tour of the sector, visiting several worlds. Gain 1d3 Contacts.
  12
  You are publically acclaimed for your work by a high ranking Confederation official. You are automatically promoted.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Artist/Author/Performer
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Acolyte
  2
  Initiate
  Persuade 1
  3
  Sojourner 
  4
  Practitioner
  Diplomacy 1
  5
  Master
  6
  Grand Master
  +1 Social Standing
  Artist
  Author
  Performer
  Survival
  Dex 7+
  Edu 6+
  Soc 5+
  Advancement
  Edu 5+
  Int 6+
  Int 7+
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  0
  Contact
  2
  5,000
  +1 Edu
  3
  10,000
  Ally
  4
  20,000
  +1 Int
  5
  30,000
  Vehicle
  6
  50,000
  Paid for trip anywhere in the 
  Confederation
  7
  100,000
  Paid for trip anywhere in a 
  neighbouring subsector
  
  12
  envoy
  Darrian envoys are diplomats and negotiators who try to 
  settle disputes through convincing debate. The Darrians have 
  long used envoys to prevent unnecessary war and prevent 
  disagreements from deteriorating into long feuds. They can 
  be found at all levels of society, from the lowliest marriage 
  councillors up to the lofty heights of the Confederation 
  government itself.
  Qualification: Edu 7+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Advocate: You work in the law courts trying to negotiate 
  solutions between conflicting opinions or establish mutually 
  agreeable punishments to those found guilty of committing 
  a crime. 
  •	
  Diplomat: You are sent to settle issues with foreign powers, 
  or between planetary governments and the Confederation 
  Ministries. You are the voice of reason, trained to defuse 
  tension and petty bickering, to cement an atmosphere of 
  reasonable compromise.
  •	
  Observer: You watch the activities of those who have 
  agreed to conciliation to ensure all members complete 
  their parts of the settlement. You also act as a judge of 
  character, discovering the true purpose of organisations or 
  individuals.
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Intelligence
  Admin
  Advocate
  2
  +1 Education
  Advocate
  Broker
  3
  +1 Social
  Diplomat
  Computers
  4
  Carouse
  Investigate
  Diplomat
  5
  Diplomacy
  Leadership
  Language (any)
  6
  Persuade
  Persuade
  Social Science (any)
  Specialist: Advocate
  Specialist: Diplomat
  Specialist: Observer
  1
  Advocate
  Advocate
  Comms
  2
  Advocate
  Broker
  Deception
  3
  Diplomat
  Deception
  Investigate
  4
  Investigate
  Diplomat
  Recon
  5
  Persuade
  Diplomat
  Stealth
  6
  Social Science (any)
  Social Science (any)
  Sensors
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  2
  A blunder in a negotiation shames you. Reduce your Social Standing by 1. 
  3
  You fail in a difficult assignment because of the manipulations of another Envoy. Gain him as a Rival.
  4
  Someone attempts to murder you. Roll Melee or Recon 8+ to avoid the attempt. If you fail, you roll on the injury 
  table. If you succeed, you may continue in this career.
  5
  You are dispatched to another world for a long period; by the time you return, your position has been taken by a 
  younger and more ambitious envoy. Gain one of Broker 1, Carouse 1 or Diplomacy 1.
  6
  A foreign ambassador insults you. Roll Diplomacy 8+ to avoid punching him. If you succeed, you decide it is time to 
  leave this career. If you fail, you lose an additional Benefit roll and gain the ambassador as an Enemy.
  
  13
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  Your time as an envoy gives you a wide range of experiences. Gain one of Animals (Riding) 1, Art (any) 1, Carouse 
  1, or Streetwise 1.
  4
  A negotiation goes dreadfully wrong and you are forced to flee into hiding for a while. Gain Deception 1, Stealth 1, 
  Streetwise 1 or Survival 1. 
  5
  You inherit a gift from a grateful client. Gain a +1 DM to any one Benefit roll.
  6
  You are given advanced training in a specialist field. Roll Education 8+ to gain any skill.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You spend time in diplomatic circles. Roll Carouse or Persuade 8+ to gain an Ally; if you fail, gain a Rival instead. 
  9
  You become deeply involved in politics on your world of residence, becoming a player in the political intrigues of 
  government. Gain one level in Admin, Advocate, Diplomacy or Persuade but also gain a Rival.
  10
  Your reign is acclaimed by all as being fair and wise. Gain either a jealous relative or an unhappy diplomat as an 
  Enemy. In addition gain a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll.
  11
  You are approached by a legitimate member of the Special Arm who wishes to recruit you for a mission that would 
  involve permanently leaving your current career. When you refuse without knowing further information the operative 
  vanishes. You utilise your contacts you try to locate the individual but he appears not to exist. Gain one level in 
  Investigate and a healthy suspicion of the Special Arm.
  12
  You excel in your role. You are automatically promoted.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Junior Envoy
  Persuade 1
  2
  Envoy
  3
  Senior Envoy
  Diplomat 1
  4
  Respected Envoy
  5
  Honoured Envoy
  Carouse 1
  6
  Voice of Taledh
  +1 Social
  Advocate
  Diplomat
  Observer
  Survival
  Soc 5+
  Soc 6+
  Int 7+
  Advancement
  Edu 7+
  Int 6+
  Dex 5+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  10,000
  Contact
  2
  15,000
  Ally
  3
  20,000
  +1 Intelligence
  4
  25,000
  +1 Education
  5
  30,000
  Vehicle
  6
  50,000
  Paid for trip anywhere in the 
  Confederation
  7
  100,000
  Paid for trip anywhere in a 
  neighbouring subsector
  
  14
  guard
  The guard are the Confederation’s heavy troops, which 
  form regiments independent of homeworld. The soldiers are 
  generally armed with the heaviest armour and equipment 
  available, specialising in assault and fortification tactics. They 
  train in conjunction with militia units so as to complement each 
  other’s strengths. The guard are the functional equivalent to the 
  Imperium’s ground assault marines.
  Qualification: Str 6+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Cavalry: You pilot the heavy armoured vehicles of the 
  Confederation, such as APCs and main battle tanks. 
  You exalt in the feel of hundreds of tons of war machine 
  smashing through the landscape and delight in firing 
  mounted weapons.
  •	
  Infantry: You are the elite foot soldiers wearing battle 
  dress and armed with support weapons. You hit hard using 
  overwhelming firepower and advanced tech to beat enemy 
  troops at their own game.
  •	
  Support: You provide artillery fire support, demolitions and 
  combat engineering to the armoured infantry and cavalry. 
  When things break you have to fix that too.
  Skills and Training:
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Officer Skills (Commissioned Only)
  1
  +1 Strength
  Athletics (any)
  Comms
  2
  +1 Dexterity
  Battle Dress
  Computers
  3
  +1 Endurance
  Gun Combat (any)
  Leadership
  4
  Athletics (any)
  Heavy Weapons (any)
  Navigation
  5
  Gun Combat (any)
  Melee (any)
  Sensors
  6
  Melee (any)
  Recon
  Tactics (military)
  Specialist: Cavalry
  Specialist: Infantry
  Specialist: Support
  1
  Comms
  Battle Dress
  Battle Dress
  2
  Flyer (any)
  Gun Combat (any)
  Comms
  3
  Engineering (any)
  Heavy Weapons (man portable) Engineering (any)
  4
  Heavy Weapons (artillery)
  Heavy Weapons (launchers)
  Explosives
  5
  Mechanic
  Recon
  Heavy Weapons (artillery or launchers)
  6
  Sensors
  Stealth
  Medic
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  Your armour or vehicle is trapped in mud and you sink beneath the surface. As a result of the experience you 
  suffered temporary claustrophobia and are forced to take a medical discharge.
  3
  You are ordered to take part in a black ops mission that goes against your conscience. You refused and were 
  ejected from the service.
  4
  You accidentally crush a civilian whilst manoeuvring in your armour, causing a publicity incident. Lose 1 Social 
  Standing.
  5
  A fellow soldier frames you for his misdeeds and you are booted out of the service. Gain an Enemy.
  6
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  
  15
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  On a covert mission outside of the Confederation you participate in a surgical assault. Gain Battle Dress, Drive 
  (any), Heavy Weapons (any) or Stealth.
  4
  You must discipline a disobedient junior NCO or officer. Roll Persuade or Melee (any) 8+. If you succeed, gain him 
  as an Ally. If you fail, lose one Social Standing and he becomes a Rival. 
  5
  You garrison one of the major military bases, which has access to a wide range of recreational facilities. Gain one 
  of Carouse, Gambling, Streetwise or Survival. 
  6
  Proving your dedication to duty, you are given advanced training in a specialist field. Throw Education 8+ to increase 
  any one skill.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You have the opportunity to volunteer for a deadly rescue mission. Roll Survival or End 8+. If you succeed you are 
  granted a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll and gain an extra Benefit roll. If you fail, roll on the Injury table.
  9
  After suffering at his hands for an entire term, you catch your commander in a compromising situation. You may 
  blackmail him and gain an extra two benefits or let him off the hook and gain him as a trusted Ally. 
  10
  You are challenged to a test of skill by a rival. If you refuse, you lose a point of Social Standing. Accept and roll your 
  best skill 8+. If you fail, you lose all benefits from this term. Succeed and gain a +2 DM to your next advancement 
  roll.
  11
  Your deeds are legend in your serving unit and your judgement unquestionably trusted. Gain a level of either 
  Leadership, Tactics (Military) or take a +4DM to your next Advancement roll thanks to their recommendations. 
  12
  Leading your unit during an exercise you come up with an innovative tactic, which takes the opposite team by 
  complete surprise and your aptitude is reported to the staff officers. You are either promoted or automatically 
  commissioned to officer rank.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  NCO
  Skill or Benefit
  Officer
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Private
  Gun Combat (any) 1
  Lieutenant
  Leadership 1
  2
  Lance Corporal
  Captain
  3
  Corporal
  Leadership 1
  Major
  Tactics (military) 1
  4
  Sergeant
  Colonel
  5
  Staff Sergeant
  Tactics (military) 1
  Brigadier 
  Diplomat 1
  6
  Sergeant Major
  General
  Cavalry
  Infantry
  Support
  Survival
  End 6+
  End 5+
  End 7+
  Advancement
  Edu 6+
  Edu 7+
  Edu 5+
  Commission: Int 8+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  5,000
  +1 Intelligence
  2
  5,000
  +1 Endurance
  3
  10,000
  +1 Education
  4
  10,000
  Weapon
  5
  20,000
  Armour
  6
  50,000
  Vehicle
  7
  100,000
  Combat Implant
  
  16
  MerChant
  Members of commercial enterprises, Darrian merchants may 
  crew the ships of the large trading corporations or they may 
  work for the independent free traders that carry chance cargos 
  and passengers between worlds.
  Qualification: Int 6+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Merchant Marine: You work aboard one of the massive 
  transports or liners run by the large Darrian corporations. 
  Work is repetitive but stable, shuttling back and forth on 
  established routes.
  •	
  Free Trader: You serve on a tramp freighter meandering 
  between worlds in search of whatever cargo can be trumped 
  up. The voyages are a constant stress and sometimes 
  dangerous, yet rarely boring.
  •	
  Broker: You work from a static location, normally at a 
  starport, where you broker deals and trade for goods on 
  the market.
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Intelligence
  Admin
  Astrogation
  2
  +1 Education
  Advocate
  Computers
  3
  +1 Dexterity
  Broker
  Comms
  4
  +1 Endurance
  Persuade
  Engineering (any)
  5
  Carouse
  Streetwise
  Pilot (any)
  6
  Streetwise
  Trade (any)
  Sensors
  Specialist: Merchant Marine
  Specialist: Free Trader
  Specialist: Broker
  1
  Admin
  Jack of all Trades
  Admin
  2
  Engineering (any)
  Melee (any)
  Advocate
  3
  Mechanic
  Persuade
  Broker
  4
  Pilot (small craft)
  Pilot (small craft)
  Broker
  5
  Steward
  Streetwise
  Trade (any)
  6
  Trade (any)
  Trade (any)
  Trade (any)
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishaps
  1
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  2
  You are accused of stealing from your employer. If this is true, gain three Benefit rolls. If it is false, roll Advocate 8+ 
  to defend yourself. If you succeed, you may remain in this career. 
  3
  You are bankrupted by a rival trader. You lose all Benefits from this career and gain the other trader as a Rival.
  4
  Your ship’s or company’s fortunes decline. You may continue in this career if you wish but you will gain no Benefit 
  rolls this term or next term.
  5
  You are sent to a border world, where your career stagnates. Gain Flyer 1, Navigate 1, Survival 1 or Trade 1. 
  6
  A superior takes a dislike to you. Gain a Rival.
  
  17
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  A rival crew or group of executives ambush you in a bar. Roll Melee (any), Stealth or Persuade 8+. If you succeed, 
  gain any skill. If you fail, roll on the Injury table.
  4
  You pick up a useful skill. Gain Drive 1, Mechanic 1, Pilot 1 or Sensors 1.
  5
  You have the opportunity to take a risk in business. Wager up to three Benefit rolls and roll Broker 8+. If you 
  succeed, gain an equal number of Benefit rolls to those you wagered. If you fail, lose any wagered Benefits.  
  6
  You befriend an old spacer who decides to give you advanced training in a specialist field. Roll Education 8+ to 
  gain any skill.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You expand into new territories. Gain Broker 1, Streetwise, Trade (any) 1 or a Contact.
  9
  You are embroiled in legal trouble. Gain one of Admin 1, Advocate 1, Diplomat 1 or Investigate 1.
  10
  Confederation trade restrictions force you out of business. You may take the Rogue career for your next term 
  without needing to roll for qualification. Gain a +2DM to your next Advancement roll.
  11
  You befriend a useful ally in one sphere. Gain an Ally and either gain a level in Carouse or take a +4 DM to your 
  next Advancement roll thanks to his aid. 
  12
  You appear to possess the Midas touch, your ship or company thrives and prospers thanks to your efforts. You are 
  automatically promoted.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Merchant Marine
  Skill or Benefit
  Free Trader
  Skill or Benefit
  Broker
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Crewman
  Mechanic 1
  Vacc Suit 1
  Dealer
  2
  Able Crewman
  Free Trader
  Melee (any)
  Broker 1
  3
  Petty Officer
  Pilot (small craft) 1
  Negotiator
  4
  Warrant Officer
  Merchant
  Trade (any)
  Advocate 1
  5
  1st Officer
  Astrogation 1
  Entrepreneur
  6
  Captain
  Merchant Captain
  Merchant 
  Marine
  Free Trader
  Broker
  Survival
  Edu 5+
  Dex 6+
  Edu 7+
  Advancement
  Int 7+
  Int 6+
  Int 5+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  5,000
  Contact
  2
  5,000
  +1 Intelligence 
  3
  10,000
  +1 Education
  4
  20,000
  Blade
  5
  20,000
  Gun 
  6
  40,000
  Ally
  7
  100,000
  10 ship shares 
  
  18
  Militia
  The militia are the home defence forces of each Darrian planet. 
  Troops specialise in guerrilla warfare, hit and run tactics and 
  insurgency, leaving the heavy combat to the Confederation 
  Guard. Unusually, militia forces are often trained in primitive 
  weaponry, deception and other similar skills to make them 
  nearly untraceable when blending in with the local population or 
  attacking from ambush.
  Qualification: End 5+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Flyer: You piloted an atmospheric fighter, grav bike or light 
  tank. Life expectancy is projected to be low in a real conflict 
  but you live for the speed, skill and daring.
  •	
  Infantry: You are a foot soldier trained in mobile, irregular 
  combat. You are a versatile fighter in both urban and 
  wilderness settings, using tricks and traps to overcome 
  superior firepower.
  •	
  Support: You are a mechanic, medic, commtech or other 
  support engineer, patching up men or equipment damaged 
  in conflict.
  Skills and Training:
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Officer Skills (Commissioned Only)
  1
  +1 Strength
  Athletics (any)
  Comms
  2
  +1 Dexterity
  Gun Combat (any)
  Computers
  3
  +1 Endurance
  Melee (any)
  Leadership
  4
  Athletics (any)
  Recon
  Navigation
  5
  Gun Combat (any)
  Stealth
  Sensors
  6
  Melee (any)
  Survival
  Tactics (military)
  Specialist: Flyer
  Specialist: Infantry
  Specialist: Support
  1
  Comms
  Deception
  Comms
  2
  Flyer (any)
  Gun Combat (any)
  Engineering (any)
  3
  Flyer (any)
  Heavy Weapons (any)
  Explosives
  4
  Gunnery (turret)
  Melee (any)
  Mechanic 
  5
  Mechanic
  Recon
  Medic
  6
  Sensors
  Stealth
  Sensors
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  A superior officer has you drummed out of the service. Gain a Rival.
  3
  During an exercise you become lost behind ‘enemy’ lines. Gain Gun Combat (any), Stealth, Streetwise or Survival.
  4
  Whilst training you shoot a superior officer and are sentenced to military prison until your term ends. Lose 1 Social 
  Standing.
  5
  You risk severe injury in a dangerous live fire skirmish. If you fight bravely, roll Gun Combat or Athletics 8+. If you 
  fail, you are injured and you must leave this career. If you succeed, you may remain in this career. If you refuse to 
  fight bravely, you must leave this career.
  6
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table
  
  19
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  Your unit is temporarily assigned to an Imperium peace keeping force that sees conflict. Roll Recon or Gun Combat 
  8+ to avoid being injured and gain one of Heavy Weapons 1, Leadership 1, Medic 1 or Stealth 1 as you fight to 
  survive.
  4
  You are assigned to garrison duty on an isolated Confederation outpost. Gain a Contact there, or one of the 
  following skills: Comms, Mechanic or Streetwise,.
  5
  You are involved in a skirmish when a pirate ship misjumps and mistakenly raids your world. Gain one of Gun 
  Combat (any), Melee (any), Recon or Survival, then roll that skill. If you get an 8+, you unit was victorious, granting 
  a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll.
  6
  You are given advanced training in a specialist skill. Roll Education 8+ to gain any one skill available to your career.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You are sent to Cunnonic to help the Aslan garrison cull the hostile life forms. Increase a skill of your choice by one 
  but lose a point of Intelligence from the repeated nightmares you have suffered ever since.
  9
  A mission goes disastrously wrong due to your commander’s error or incompetence but you survive. If you report 
  your commanding officer for his failure then you gain a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll. If you say nothing 
  and protect him, gain him as an Ally.
  10
  You are considered for promotion to the Confederation Guard. You may add the number of terms served in this 
  career as a +DM if you attempt to qualify for them next term and preserve your rank by transferring over to the 
  Guard equivalent.
  11
  You serve under a hero of the clan, who likes your attitude. Either gain Tactics (Military), or take a +4 DM to your 
  next Advancement roll thanks to his aid. 
  12
  Your ceaseless high performance marks come to the attention of the upper echelons. You are either promoted or 
  automatically commissioned to officer rank.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  NCO
  Skill or Benefit
  Officer
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Private
  Gun Combat (any) 1
  Lieutenant
  Leadership 1
  2
  Lance Corporal
  Captain
  3
  Corporal
  Leadership 1
  Major
  Tactics (military) 1
  4
  Sergeant
  Colonel
  5
  Staff Sergeant
  Tactics (military) 1
  Brigadier 
  Diplomat 1
  6
  Sergeant Major
  General
  Flyer
  Infantry
  Support
  Survival
  Dex 7+
  Str 6+
  End 5+
  Advancement
  Int 5+
  Edu 6+
  Edu 7+
  Commission: Int 8+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  500
  +1 Intelligence
  2
  1,000
  +1 Endurance
  3
  2,000
  +1 Education
  4
  5,000
  Weapon
  5
  10,000
  Armour
  6
  20,000
  Vehicle
  7
  50,000
  Combat Implant
  
  20
  navy
  The Darrian Confederation navy patrols the region of space 
  between its star systems. The navy has a responsibility to 
  protect the Confederation against invasion and to deter piracy 
  by the lawless elements who cluster around the Darrian borders. 
  Primary of these threats are the Zhodani and Sword World 
  fleets against whom the Darrian navy has clashed numerous 
  times in the past.
  Qualification: Edu 6+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Bridge: You are part of the bridge crew who control the 
  ship and coordinate its different functions during battle.
  •	
  Engineering: You are the mechanics, engineers and repair 
  crews who ensure the ship remains functional both in and 
  out of battle.
  •	
  Marine: You are the ship’s troops who repel boarders or 
  are sent to pacify resistance on crippled enemy vessels.
  Skills and Training:
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Officer Skills (Commissioned Only)
  1
  +1 Strength
  Gun Combat (any)
  Admin
  2
  +1 Dexterity
  Gunner (any)
  Computers
  3
  +1 Endurance
  Melee (any)
  Leadership
  4
  +1 Intelligence
  Pilot (small craft)
  Science (any)
  5
  +1 Education
  Vacc Suit
  Tactics (naval)
  6
  Jack of all Trades
  Zero-G
  Tactics (naval)
  Specialist: Bridge
  Specialist: Engineering
  Specialist: Marine
  1
  Astrogation
  Computers
  Battle Dress
  2
  Comms
  Engineering (any)
  Explosives
  3
  Gunner (any)
  Engineering (any)
  Gun Combat (any)
  4
  Pilot (any)
  Mechanics
  Heavy Weapon (man portable)
  5
  Remote Operations
  Remote Operations
  Recon
  6
  Sensors
  Vacc Suit
  Tactics (shipboard)
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  A failing on your part causes a catastrophic loss in your team. You lose one point of Social Standing. In addition the 
  only other survivor becomes your Enemy. 
  3
  During a battle, defeat or victory depends on your actions. You must make an 8+ roll using a skill that depends on 
  your branch: Sensors or Gunner (any) if you are bridge crew, Mechanic or Vacc Suit if you are engineering crew 
  and Gun Combat or Tactics if you are a marine. If you fail, the ship suffers severe damage and you are blamed for 
  the disaster. You are court-martialled and discharged. If you succeed, your efforts ensure that you are honourably 
  discharged. You still leave the career but may keep your Benefit roll from this term.
  4
  You are tormented by or quarrel with an officer or fellow crewman. Gain that character as a Rival, as he forces you 
  out of the Navy.
  5
  Placed in the frozen watch (cryogenically stored on board ship) and revived improperly. Reduce either Strength, 
  Dexterity or Endurance by 1 due to muscle wastage.
  6
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  
  21
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  On secondment to the Imperium you fight a brutal space battle. Improve a skill of your choice by one level.
  4
  You must discipline a disobedient junior officer. Roll Leadership or Melee 8+. If you succeed, gain him as an Ally. If 
  you fail, lose one Social Standing and he becomes a Rival. 
  5
  You are stationed at a major naval base. Gain one of Carouse, Gambling, Persuade or Streetwise. 
  6
  A senior officer takes interest in your career. You are given advanced training in a specialist field. Throw Education 
  8+ to increase any one skill.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You join a gambling circle on board. Gain Gambler 1 or Deception 1. If you wish, throw Gambler 8+. If you succeed, 
  gain an extra Benefit roll for this term; if you fail, you lose a Benefit roll instead.
  9
  Your vessel participates in a notable engagement against pirates. Gain one of Engineer (any) 1, Gunnery (any) 1, 
  Pilot (any) 1 or Sensors 1.
  10
  Your vessel participates in a diplomatic mission. Gain one of Diplomacy 1, Recon 1, Steward 1 or a Contact.
  11
  Your service report is excellent and you are invited to sit at secondary control board on the bridge. Either gain 
  Tactics (naval) 1 or take a +4 DM to your next Advancement roll thanks to his aid.
  12
  You display heroism in battle, saving the whole ship. You may gain a promotion or a commission automatically.
  NCO Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Bridge/Engineering
  Skill or Benefit
  Marine
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Spacehand
  Mechanic 1
  Marine
  Blade 1
  2
  Able Spacehand
  Lance Corporal
  3
  Leading Spacehand
  Vacc Suit 1
  Corporal
  Battle Dress 1
  4
  Petty Officer
  Sergeant
  5
  Chief Petty Officer
  Leadership 1
  Colour Sergeant
  Tactics (shipboard) 1
  6
  Warrant Officer
  Sergeant Major
  Officer Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Bridge
  Skill or Benefit
  Engineering
  Skill or Benefit
  Marine
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Midshipman
  Melee (Blade) 1
  Midshipman
  Engineering (any) 1
  Lieutenant
  Leadership 1
  2
  Lieutenant
  Leadership 1
  Sub-Lieutenant
  Admin 1
  Captain
  3
  Commander
  Lieutenant
  Major
  Tactics (shipboard) 
  1
  4
  Captain
  Tactics (naval) 1
  Engineer
  Leadership 1
  Lt. Colonel
  5
  Commodore
  Chief Engineer
  Colonel
  Diplomacy 1
  6
  Admiral
  Fleet Engineer
  Brigadier
  Bridge
  Engineering
  Marine
  Survival
  Edu 5+
  Int 6+
  Dex 7+
  Advancement
  Int 7+
  Edu 6+
  Edu 5+
  Commission: Int 8+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  1,000
  Contact
  2
  5,000
  +1 Intelligence
  3
  5,000
  +2 Education
  4
  10,000
  Weapon
  5
  20,000
  Armour
  6
  50,000
  Vehicle
  7
  50,000
  Five Ship Shares
  
  22
  sCholar
  Knowledge and learning are almost a mania amongst Darrians, 
  something in their psyche drives them towards accumulating 
  information, then analysing it with an insatiable curiosity. Upon 
  beginning adulthood, Darrians must decide whether to spend 
  their first term serving in the military or continue their higher 
  education by serving as a scholar instead. About half choose 
  the path of learning in preference to the path of defence. Despite 
  only the first term being mandatory by law, many students 
  decide to continue a career in research, science or medicine.
  Qualification: Edu 7+ 
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Physician: You specialise in the life sciences, combining the 
  role of researcher and technician, by tending the sick and 
  wounded and developing cures for chronic or virulent diseases.
  •	
  Researcher: You study subjects, develop new theories and 
  then test them via experimentation or empirical measurements. 
  Your work is almost all cerebral; finding patterns or relationships 
  and conceiving reasons for them to be so.
  •	
  Technician: You take the formulae and theories proposed by 
  researchers and try to create practical applications and devices 
  with them. With these theories you craft working technology.
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Intelligence 
  Admin
  Advocate
  2
  +1 Education
  Computers
  Astrogation
  3
  +1 Social Standing
  Investigate
  Computers
  4
  Computers
  Science (any)
  Diplomacy
  5
  Jack of all Trades
  Science (any)
  Language (any)
  6
  Science (any)
  Sensors
  Science (any)
  Specialist: Physician
  Specialist: Researcher
  Specialist: Technician
  1
  Investigate
  Computers
  Computers
  2
  Life Science
  Science (any)
  Engineering (any)
  3
  Medicine
  Science (any)
  Engineering (any)
  4
  Medicine
  Science (any)
  Science (any)
  5
  Persuade
  Science (any)
  Science (any)
  6
  Sensors
  Sensors
  Sensors
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  2
  A laboratory or library accident exposes you to something dangerous. Reduce your Endurance by 1.
  3
  Another researcher sabotages your work. Gain a Rival. You may continue in this career if you wish but gain no Benefit 
  rolls from this term.
  4
  The lab ship you are aboard misjumps, stranding you on an alien world. Gain one of Astrogation 1, Life Science 1, 
  Mechanic 1 or Survival 1.
  5
  A rival scholar insists that your work is flawed. You may challenge the critic if you wish. If you challenge, roll Science 
  8+. If you succeed, increase your Social Standing by 1 and you may continue with this career. If you fail, reduce your 
  Social Standing by 2 and leave this career.
  6
  Your university cancels your line of research. You may, if you wish, leave to continue it in human space, in which case 
  you may automatically qualify for the Scholar career from the main Traveller Core Rulebook next term.
  
  23
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  You decide to take a sabbatical from study, to recharge your flagging mind. Gain one of Carouse 1, Streetwise 1, 
  Survival 1 or a Contact.
  4
  You are assigned to work on weapons technology for the Confederation. Gain one of Engineering 1, Gun Combat 
  1, Gunnery 1 or Space Science 1.
  5
  You work closely with a scientist from another species. Gain a Contact.
  6
  Your university head of department decides that you should be given advanced training in a specialist field. Roll 
  Education 8+ to gain any skill.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You teach young students at your university or local school. Gain Admin 1, Persuade 1, any Science 1 or a Contact.
  9
  A researcher working for another university is close to making a breakthrough you covet. You can try to complete 
  your research first, attempt to sabotage his work or do nothing. If you try to complete your work first, roll Science 
  10+. Fail and you lose any Benefit rolls from this term. Succeed and you gain a +2 DM to your next advancement 
  roll and gain the researcher as a Rival.
  If you try to sabotage his work, roll Stealth or Deception 8+. Fail and you lose 2 Social Standing. Succeed and you 
  gain a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll, in addition to gaining the researcher as an Enemy.
  10
  You obtain a rare pre-Maghiz artefact to study. Roll an applicable Science 8+. If you succeed, you uncover the 
  subject’s secrets and the Special Arm arrives to remove the object and offer you a job, allowing you to transfer into 
  the Special Arm career with rank and benefits intact. If you fail the agents still turn up but simply take the artefact 
  and disappear, your protests availing you nothing. 
  11
  You are invited to study at one of the great universities or research facilities on Daryen. With the research facilities 
  available, you may either improve a single Science skill by one level or gain a +4 DM to your next Advancement roll. 
  12
  You make a scientific breakthrough. In addition to being automatically promoted, your best Science, Engineering 
  or Medic skill improves by one.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Researcher/Technician
  Physician
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Scholar
  Medic
  Computer 1
  2
  3
  Respected Scholar
  Doctor
  Admin 1
  4
  5
  Specialist
  6
  Revered Scholar
  +1 Social Standing
  Physician
  Researcher
  Technician
  Survival
  Edu 5+
  Edu 7+
  Int 6+
  Advancement
  Soc 7+
  Int 5+
  Edu 6+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  5,000
  Scientific equipment
  2
  10,000
  +1 Edu
  3
  25,000
  +1 Int
  4
  50,000
  Contact
  5
  75,000
  Vehicle
  6
  100,000
  +1 Social
  7
  150,000
  +2 Social
  
  24
  speCial arM
  The Special Arm is the mysterious third branch of the Darrian 
  military; the secretive organisation is assigned the control and 
  deployment of the terrifying Star Trigger weapon. Members of 
  the Special Arm are occasionally seen travelling across the 
  Confederation and have the authority to commandeer ships 
  to act as couriers or perform missions vital to Confederation 
  security. More notable is the fact that new discoveries of pre-
  Maghiz technology are usually confiscated by Special Arm 
  officers, although sometime later, artefacts are usually returned 
  to the original discoverer or their university for further analysis. 
  Qualification: Int 9+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Commando: You are the elite soldiers of the Confederation, 
  equipped with technology well beyond that of the Zhodani 
  or Imperium. Your task is to protect the Confederation and 
  prevent restricted knowledge or devices from falling into 
  enemy hands. You are the watchers of the watchmen.
  •	
  Psion: You are the specially trained counter espionage 
  agents trained to locate Zhodani spies and interrogate 
  those who would cause harm to the Confederation. 
  •	
  Scientist: You are the cutting edge researchers of the 
  Confederation, especially head hunted for your innovative 
  concepts and genius abilities. You study pre-Maghiz artefacts 
  and extract their secrets for replication and development.
  Skills and Training:
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Strength
  Deception
  Astrogation
  2
  +1 Dexterity
  Gun Combat (any)
  Computers
  3
  +1 Endurance
  Investigate
  Comms
  4
  +1 Intelligence
  Melee (any)
  Engineering (any)
  5
  +1 Education
  Recon
  Pilot (any)
  6
  Jack of all Trades
  Stealth
  Sensors
  Specialist: Commando
  Specialist: Psion
  Specialist: Scientist
  1
  Athletics (any)
  Clairvoyance
  Computers
  2
  Battle Dress
  Persuade
  Engineering (any)
  3
  Heavy Weapon (man portable)
  Streetwise
  Engineering (any)
  4
  Streetwise
  Social Science (any)
  Science (any)
  5
  Survival
  Telepathy
  Science (any)
  6
  Tactics (military)
  Telepathy
  Sensors
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  You learn something that you should not have and now you are on the run from the Special Arm. Gain the organisation as an Enemy.
  3
  A mission or research project goes wrong and you are held responsible for it. You may accept your fate and be voluntarily 
  retired. If you argue, roll Persuade 8+. If you succeed, you may stay in this career. If you fail, you are terminated.
  4
  An enemy agent targets you. Roll Gun Combat, Melee or Stealth 8+; if you fail, roll on the Injury table. Either way, concern is 
  raised regarding how or why the agent was after you, forcing you into retirement.
  5
  The other side attempts to turn you. If you accept, gain three extra Benefit rolls as you fake you own death and flee from the 
  Confederation.
  6
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  
  25
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  Ship J-Drive malfunction leaves you stranded in hostile foreign space, when ‘rescued’ you are forced to escape before your 
  identity is discovered. Gain Deception 1, Pilot 1 or Stealth 1.
  4
  You must discipline a disobedient junior officer. Roll Leadership or Melee 8+. If you succeed, gain him as an Ally. If you fail, lose 
  one Social Standing and he becomes a Rival. 
  5
  You are caught by your superiors doing private research into restricted files. You are forced to quickly bury your stolen data in 
  the computer system; roll Computers 8+. Success hides the information so you may recover it properly, using the information to 
  gain a +2 DM on your next Advancement roll. Failure means the data is found and you are retired unless you lie your way out of 
  the situation with a Deception or Persuade 8+ roll.
  6
  Your senior officer or departmental head wishes to fast track your development. You are given advanced training in a specialist 
  field. Throw Education 8+ to increase any one skill, which must be chosen from your career selection.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  Your absolute loyalty being proven time and again, you are assigned to crew duty aboard one of the Star Trigger ships. You may 
  roll once on the Advanced Education table.
  9
  You are volunteered to test a new piece of experimental equipment. Either gain any augment of up to TL16 or the skill required 
  to operate the device at level 1.
  10
  You are sent on a black ops mission to recover a pre-Maghiz artefact from a Sword World or Zhodani military base. The surgical 
  intrusion goes pear shaped and you are forced to blast your way free. Roll Stealth or Gun Combat 8+. Success means you 
  achieved the objective and gain a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll. Failure indicates that you were wounded in action, roll 
  on the Injury table. Either way you learn from the experience and may increase two of your lowest skills by one level.
  11
  You learn of an ethically questionable secret concerning the Special Arm, something you are opposed to that could harm its 
  reputation, or significantly hamper its operations, and must choose whether to covertly release it. Withhold the information and 
  you find yourself automatically promoted. Attempt to release the knowledge and you discover it was a trap laid by your superior. 
  You suffer a -4 DM on your next Advancement roll and the officer as an Enemy.
  12
  Your exemplary discipline and fervour make you a natural leader amongst your peers. You are automatically promoted and 
  increase your Leadership by one level.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Commando/Psion
  Skill or Benefit
  Scientist
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Lieutenant
  Melee (Blade) 1
  Researcher
  Jack of all Trades
  2
  Captain
  Leadership 1
  Analyst
  Admin 1
  3
  Major
  4
  Lt. Colonel
  Tactics (military) 1
  Specialist
  5
  Colonel
  +1 Social Standing
  6
  Brigadier
  Faculty Head
  Commando
  Psion
  Scientist
  Survival
  Dex 8+
  Int 7+
  Int 6+
  Advancement
  Int 6+
  Psi 7+
  Edu 8+
  After an individual joins the Special Arm, they remain in that 
  service until the end of their career. However, once in the 
  Special Arm, everyone will always assume the character is still 
  involved, which can potentially make adventuring difficult. This 
  is not a wise choice for player characters, unless the referee 
  is designing his campaign around the Special Arm and its 
  activities. If not specified otherwise Mishaps force the character 
  into permanent retirement. 
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  1,000
  Contact
  2
  5,000
  +1 Intelligence
  3
  5,000
  +2 Education
  4
  10,000
  Weapon
  5
  20,000
  Armour
  6
  50,000
  Vehicle
  7
  50,000
  Five Ship Shares
  
  26
  Worker
  Whilst most Darrians serve in some duty, the majority work in 
  the everyday corporations, industries and civil authorities that 
  run society. Depending on the employer work can range from 
  waste recycling to legal secretarial duties, with both blue collar 
  and white collar vocations.
  Qualification: Edu 5+
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Bureaucratic: You are employed by your planetary 
  government to perform jobs required to allow society 
  to function, from the maintenance of infrastructure to 
  population administration.
  •	
  Corporate: You work as part of a business designed to 
  earn a profit by selling products or services to customers. 
  Work can vary between working on the shop floor to 
  management of company finances or resources.
  •	
  Industrial: You labour in companies that mine, manufacture, 
  process, build or destroy things. Employment can range 
  between driving heavy machinery to the conceptual design 
  of new methods.
  Skills and Training:
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Edu 
  Admin
  Advocate
  2
  +1 Int
  Computers
  Engineering (any)
  3
  Carouse
  Drive (any)
  Computers
  4
  Gambler
  Flyer (any)
  Life Science (any)
  5
  Drive
  Persuade
  Physical Science (any)
  6
  Jack of all Trades
  Steward
  Social Science (any)
  Specialist: Bureaucratic
  Specialist: Corporate
  Specialist: Industrial
  1
  Admin
  Admin
  Admin
  2
  Advocate
  Broker
  Drive (any)
  3
  Diplomat
  Diplomat
  Mechanic
  4
  Leadership
  Leadership
  Engineering (any)
  5
  Persuade
  Persuade
  Flyer (any)
  6
  Streetwise
  Trade (any)
  Physical Science
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  A family member or lover is killed in a genuine accident. You fall apart and begin to act strangely.
  3
  A shift in office politics ruins your career. Lose 1 Social Standing. 
  4
  Excessive stress takes its toll. Lose 1 Endurance.
  5
  You are framed by a rival and although later proven innocent, the disgrace had already ended your career. Gain a 
  Rival. 
  6
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  
  27
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  An emergency at your place of employment forces you to make a critical decision between saving months of work 
  or saving your life. Roll Dex 8+. If you succeed, your boss and team mates reward your efforts allowing you to 
  increase any skill you have by one level. If you fail, roll on the Injury table.
  4
  You have the opportunity to purchase cheaper services or materials necessary for your job. If you accept, roll Int 
  8+. Succeed and you gain one Benefit roll. Fail and you discover they were underpriced for good reason, you are 
  ejected from this career and lose 1 Social Standing.
  5
  Your work takes you outside of the Confederation. Gain one of Diplomat, Language or Life Science.
  6
  You spend time maintaining and using vehicles, either as part of your job or as a hobby. Increase Drive (any), 
  Engineer (any), Flyer (any) or Mechanic by one level.
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You become fixated with a fellow worker and go to extreme efforts to become friendly with them. No matter how 
  hard you try they brush you off and your feelings towards them sour. Gain an Enemy and one level of Carouse, 
  Diplomat or Persuade.
  9
  Your boss starts an inter-departmental conflict with another office. You are asked to uncover compromising 
  information concerning their work ethics. If you agree you are automatically promoted this term. If you refuse, you 
  superior prevents you from advancing this term.
  10
  Your business expands, your corporation grows or the colony thrives. Gain a +1 DM to any one Benefit roll.
  11
  You befriend an old Darrian who once managed your place of employment. He arranges for you to gain additional 
  tuition. Gain an extra roll on your Speciality table. 
  12
  Your efforts gain your department an advance in status. You are automatically promoted.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Bureaucratic
  Skill or Benefit
  Corporate
  Skill or Benefit
  Industrial
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  2
  Administrator
  Admin 1
  Manager
  Admin 1
  Technician
  Mechanic 1
  3
  4
  Supervisor
  Advocate 1
  Senior Manager
  Leadership 1
  Production Manager
  Engineering 1
  5
  6
  Director
  +1 Social
  Executive
  Broker 1
  Production Driector
  Leadership 1
  Bureaucratic
  Corporate
  Industrial
  Survival
  Int 5+
  Soc 6+
  End 7+
  Advancement
  Soc 7+
  Int 6+
  Edu 5+
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  1,000
  +1 Education
  2
  5,000
  +1 Intelligence
  3
  10,000
  Ally
  4
  20,000
  Vehicle
  5
  30,000
  Paid for trip anywhere in the 
  Confederation
  6
  50,000
  Paid for trip anywhere in a 
  neighbouring subsector
  7
  100,000
  Two Ship Shares
  
  28
  Wanderer
  Some Darrians wander about the Confederation failing to put 
  down roots in any one place. Most are transient workers or 
  simple nomads wishing to see every aspect of Darrian culture. 
  A few are exiles, keeping one step ahead of their blackened 
  reputations by hiding at the few foreign outposts in the 
  Confederation, crewing non-Darrian ships or assuming false 
  personalities. Wanderers generally travel between worlds by 
  working for their passage on ships with a space crew slot to fill.
  Qualification: Automatic
  Assignments: Choose one of the following:
  •	
  Drifter: You travel from system-to-system picking up 
  temporary work such as asteroid mining, salvaging, 
  engineering crew and so on. Your wanderlust prevents you 
  from settling down in any one specific job, despite the high 
  level of diverse skills that you have picked up.
  •	
  Exile: Thrown out of the world you were born on, you by all 
  rights should be beyond the borders of the Confederation 
  or lying dead from exposure and starvation somewhere. 
  Yet there are some refuges in Darrian space and not all 
  Darrians are heartless enough to allow an exile to die 
  but grant you brief shelter in exchange for work, before 
  ushering you onwards.
  •	
  Nomad: You journey between the worlds of the 
  Confederation, trying to absorb the many varied and 
  wonderful cultures each colony has developed. Whether 
  you are collecting material for a scholarly study or simply 
  love meeting new people is up to you.
  Personal Development
  Service Skills
  Advanced Education (Minimum Edu 8)
  1
  +1 Strength
  Athletics (any)
  Astrogation
  2
  +1 Dexterity
  Melee (unarmed)
  Computers
  3
  +1 Endurance
  Recon
  Comms
  4
  Carouse
  Streetwise
  Engineering (any)
  5
  Streetwise
  Stealth
  Pilot (any)
  6
  Jack of all Trades
  Survival
  Sensors
  Specialist: Drifter
  Specialist: Exile
  Specialist: Nomad
  1
  Engineering (any)
  Deception
  Jack of all Trades
  2
  Flyer (any)
  Jack of all Trades
  Language (any)
  3
  Jack of all Trades
  Melee (any)
  Persuade
  4
  Mechanics
  Recon
  Science (any)
  5
  Remote Operation
  Stealth
  Steward
  6
  Vacc Suit
  Streetwise
  Streetwise
  Mishaps
  Roll 1d6
  Mishap
  1
  Severely Injured. Roll twice on the Injury table and take the lower result.
  2
  The ship you are on makes an emergency landing on an uninhabited world. Gain any one of Animals (any) 1, 
  Mechanic 1, Recon 1 or Survival 1.
  3
  You fail to find work or usable territory. Starvation reduces your Endurance by 1.
  4
  Believed to be an exile you are attacked. Roll Melee or End 8+ to avoid injury.
  5
  You run afoul of a criminal gang, corrupt bureaucrat or other foe. Gain an Enemy.
  6
  Injured. Roll on the Injury table.
  
  29
  Events
  Roll 2d6
  Events
  2
  Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table but you are not ejected from this career.
  3
  A patron offers you a chance at a job. If you accept, you gain a +4 DM to your next Qualification roll but you owe 
  that patron a favour.
  4
  You pick up a few useful skills here and there. Gain one level of Jack of all Trades, Melee (any), Streetwise or 
  Survival.
  5
  A wandering Darrian of suspicious demeanour admires your fortitude and grants you a gift. You gain an extra 
  Benefit roll.
  6
  You make a Contact in a distant spaceport. 
  7
  Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table. 
  8
  You pick up some useful skills in your last job. Gain an extra roll on any table available to your career path. 
  9
  Whilst visiting an Imperial starport you are forcibly drafted. Roll for the Draft (as per the Traveller Core Rulebook) 
  next term. Surviving the term clears any previous criminal record, such as Exile.
  10
  You spend time employed in Aslan territory. Roll Survival 8+ or End 8+; if you fail, roll on the Mishap table. If you 
  succeed, gain a Contact and any one skill.
  11
  You are offered the opportunity to smuggle illegal items onto a planet. If you accept, roll Deception 8+ or Persuade 
  8+ to gain Streetwise 1 and an extra Benefit roll. If you refuse, you gain an Enemy in the criminal sphere.
  12
  A member of your family tracks you down with the news that whatever caused you to start life as a wanderer has 
  been cleared up (including Exile). If desired, you may immediately join any new career next term.
  Ranks and Skills 
  Rank
  Skill or Benefit
  1
  Mechanic
  2
  3
  Engineering
  4
  5
  6
  Contact
  Drifter
  Exile
  Nomad
  Survival
  Int 7+
  End 8+
  Int 6+
  Advancement
  Edu 7+
  Int 6+
  Soc 8+
  Note that failing a survival roll as an Exile indicates that the character has to leave Confederation space or quite literally die. Entry 
  into the Exile career path immediately reduces the character’s Social Standing to 2.
  Mustering-Out Benefits: 
  Roll
  Cash
  Other Benefits
  1
  0
  Contact
  2
  0
  Weapon
  3
  0
  Ally
  4
  2,000
  Weapon
  5
  5,000
  +1 Strength
  6
  10,000
  +1 Dexterity
  7
  20,000
  +1 Endurance
  
  30
  The Darrians are the most advanced technological race in the 
  Spinward Marches. They reached their peak several thousand 
  years ago but were knocked back to a pre-spaceflight level 
  of industry, due to the horrors of the Magniz. It took nearly 
  six centuries before one of their colonies recovered the 
  technological base to refurbish their mothballed spacecraft and 
  took to the stars once again. 
  Finding most of their previous confederation still intact, albeit 
  trapped upon their respective planets, it did not take long for the 
  Darrians to retake their place as an independent power in the 
  sector. Despite the hardships they have endured, the Darrians 
  have once again clawed their way back to technological 
  superiority, helped by the study of surviving pre-setback 
  artefacts and the deterrent of a super-weapon capable of 
  destroying entire star systems. 
  Intelligent, inquisitive and stoic, the Darrians stand as an island 
  of civilisation between contending empires poised to wreck 
  havoc. 
  darrian physiology
  Darrians are the descendents of human stock, transported to 
  their homeworld by a member of the Ancients. Forced to live 
  and adapt to a low gravity world, the Darrians have evolved into 
  an unusually tall, slender race. Although initially free from most 
  pathogens and diseases native to their new home, it did not take 
  long for such things to evolve from their own body bacterium. 
  This combined with high ozone levels, arid environment and the 
  eventual loss of the originally tailored ecosystem, has caused 
  the Darrians to develop some unique traits amongst humanity.
  Most pure-blooded Darrians grow to a height between 2.1 and 
  2.3 metres. Those with some recent Solomani genes in their 
  ancestry average a little shorter, from 2.0 to 2.2 metres tall. With 
  the increased height comes a reduction in musculature, their 
  physiques lengthened due to the low gravity. Freed from the 
  shackles of more oppressive gravity, their structures were free 
  to ‘stretch’. A side effect of this lengthening is that their features 
  are ‘sharper’ than in normal Humaniti giving them a pleasantly 
  exotic look some would call ‘elfin’, and mass slightly lighter, 
  males around 78kg and females 73kg.This reduced mass gives 
  the Darrians a more lithe and graceful appearance.
   
  Genetic low gravity adaptation caused the Darrians some 
  difficulty during their original diaspora, a number of the new 
  colony worlds having a significantly higher gravity. Although 
  the darrian raCe
  they were able to make some medical aids to counter the 
  cardio-vascular stress, the sheer discomfort of living under 
  high gravity and resulting reduction in lifespan, meant that few 
  Darrians were willing to leave their homeworld to settle harsher 
  planets. Even if acclimatised to higher gravity, the genetic 
  problems still remain, requiring some Darrians, especially the 
  geriatric populace, to live in orbital settlements, use special 
  drugs to reduce the pain, or wear tailor-made exoskeletons to 
  support their fragile skeletons. 
  For most of their official history, Darrians have lived in harmony 
  with their ecologies, taking pleasure in maintaining an alert 
  awareness of their natural surroundings. As such, they have 
  sharper eyesight and hearing than normal humans. They also 
  possess what appears to be a tailored, or perhaps evolved, 
  mathematical and musical ability due to an unusually high 
  number of cross linkages between the hemispheres of their 
  brains. A side effect of this increased inventiveness is that 
  almost a fifth of all Darrians are ambidextrous and those 
  remaining have an equal chance of being left or right handed.
  As a result of the high levels of ozone in the mountainous regions 
  of their homeworld, Darrians are resistant to the oxidising side 
  effects of the corrosive gas. They are also partially adapted to 
  low pressure atmospheres both due to the original efforts of 
  crossing high altitude mountain passes on their homeworld and 
  because many of their colonies have thin or very thin air due 
  to their lesser gravity. Darrians find it difficult to adapt to even 
  moderately high pressures, requiring specialised breathing 
  gear to function in anything above 1.1 Standard Atmospheres.
  Another unusual adaptation is the widening of the pelvis. 
  Instead of the knock-kneed structure of human legs, Darrian 
  legs descend straight down from their hips, giving them a wider 
  more stable stance and a distinctive graceful sway to their 
  hips when walking. Except for a birthing advantage, allowing 
  a larger head, and therefore more developed brain, to pass 
  during delivery, it is unknown what benefits the pelvic structure 
  offers since on higher gravity worlds it tends to increase the 
  wear on the leg and hip joints. Darrians find it difficult to walk 
  along narrow beams or lines.
  The Darrian metabolism offers some unusual modifications 
  to the human norm. Darrians are unable to store body fat, 
  converting everything they eat to calories used for exercise and 
  internal heat control. Hence, they have a variable appetite which 
  adjusts itself automatically to the required energy expenditure. 
  If a Darrian does overeat, their body simply stops digesting 
  
  31
  consumed food and passes the excess, which, depending 
  on the food consumed, can be quite painful. Although this 
  autonomous process allows Darrians to remain slim and suffer 
  no excess weight problems, much to the envy of other humans, 
  it does mean that in energy intensive situations they can starve 
  to death with surprising rapidity.
  A fast burning metabolism does offer other advantages, such 
  as being able to keep warm and safe from frostbite in extreme 
  cold and in addition, the ability to resist diseases by entering 
  a short feverish coma, which burns up most forms of human 
  bacteriological and viral infections.
  The golden skin tone of Darrians is due to a unique skin 
  pigmentation called Protremelanin, which reflects, rather than 
  absorbs, the stronger UV light of their homeworld. Thus their 
  complexions tend to glow with what has been called an ‘inner 
  light’. Stressed or unhealthy Darrians lose this faint reflective 
  illumination, their skin tone turning a greyish tan colour. 
  Complimenting their skin colouration, Darrian hair ranges 
  from yellow to platinum blond and also glows with reflected 
  wavelengths. This particular adaptation has been invaluable on 
  many colony worlds, whose thinner atmospheres and lack of 
  ozone grant little protection against higher levels of ionising UV 
  light.
  Additionally 
  Darrian 
  physiology 
  is 
  adapted 
  to 
  water 
  conservation. They perspire little, tending to undergo periods of 
  inactivity when their body temperatures get too warm. Their skin 
  pigmentation, high surface to mass ratio and unconsciously 
  moderated metabolic rate, generally allows them to remain cool 
  without the requirement of sweating, unless forced to extreme 
  or extended periods of exercise.
  Lifespan
  Darrian gestation is 11 months, giving new born babies an 
  advanced start due to increased brain size. Their linguistic 
  abilities begin to be moulded whilst still in the womb and 
  motor skills rapidly develop after birth. Most can run and climb 
  within three months. Despite this rapid head start, Darrians 
  are considered children until the age of 18 standard years, 
  only being regarded as mature once they pass 22 and have 
  completed their advanced or professional education.
  Physically, Darrians are considered to be in their prime between 
  the ages of 22 and 40, after which they begin a very slow 
  reduction in physical prowess.
  As a side effect of their evolved tolerance to oxidising agents, 
  most healthy Darrians who live in warm climates can commonly 
  survive to a 100 years old, the record being 127 standard 
  Imperium years. Very cold or high gravity environments, can 
  shorten life expectancy considerably due to higher maintained 
  metabolic rates or increased physical stress on the pulmonary 
  system; lowering it to around the 60 year mark. Anagathics 
  can extend this. By the time of death, most Darrians are still 
  physically capable but increasingly fragile due to osteoporosis. 
  Diet
  Like regular humans, Darrians are omnivorous eating a wide 
  range of fruits, vegetables and meats. They originally began 
  their civilisation eating the produce of the orchards they were 
  provided with but supplemented their diet with meat hunted 
  from native animals. With a rise in civilisation they began to 
  practice animal husbandry in preference to hunting. 
  Despite having a fundamental respect for life, Darrians 
  understand that predation is natural and therefore continue 
  to raise livestock for consumption but foreswearing any 
  unnecessary cruelty in the slaughter and butchery of meat 
  animals.
  Although technologically capable of manufacturing vat grown 
  artificial meat, most Darrians refuse to eat anything that has not 
  been grown or raised organically. The majority prefer their food 
  to be fresh and where possible, families often cultivate their own 
  gardens to provide supplementary fruit and vegetables, or tiny 
  potted herb collections if no land is available.
  soCiety
  Whilst it is not monolithic across the entire Darrian Confederation, 
  Darrian society is based upon the philosophical teachings of the 
  ancient Taledh school of thought. The Darrian social codes are a 
  series of laws that define civility, tolerance, law and punishment. 
  Each colony follows the general code but some sub-cultures 
  have slightly different interpretations.
  Viewed as examples of an idyllic pacifistic society, the Darrians 
  are often held in contempt by more militaristic races. However, 
  whilst the Darrians prefer to settle disputes via negotiation or 
  clever ruses, the truth is far more complex. Darrian society is 
  primarily based upon the well being of the community, rather 
  than gratification of the self. Yet there is a strong emphasis on 
  scientific or artistic excellence, stringent self control, acceptance 
  of others and stoic persistence.
  Darrian society is influenced by the member races of the 
  Confederation. Citizens are treated equally regardless of 
  species. The breakdown of the collected worlds’ populace is 
  75% pure strain Darrians, 12% mixed heritage Darrians, 8% 
  Aslan, 3% pure strain Solomani and 2% of other races. Since 
  their arrival to the Darrian homeworld, the Solomani have been 
  willingly subsumed within its culture but in return introduced new 
  concepts of personal freedom and ambition. The Aslan, having 
  a more alien society continue to follow core Aslan traditions but 
  have slowly (and voluntarily) adopted new conventions such 
  as monogamy, prohibition against unnecessary killing and the 
  
  32
  pursuit of intellectual rather than militaristic status. Due to this 
  slow reformation, non-Darrian Aslan consider their brethren to 
  be barbarians and traitors to the true Aslan way.
  Family Structures
  Darrian families are based upon monogamous marriages. Prior 
  to marriage, however, a variety of inter-sex relationships are 
  actively encouraged, even up to the formations of polyamorous 
  groups. This allows young Darrians to experience and 
  experiment with multiple partners to discover what truly makes 
  them content in a relationship.
  Once married a Darrian is expected to remain faithful to 
  their partner for the rest of their natural lifespan. Divorce is 
  exceptionally rare due to the race tendencies for tolerance and 
  stoicism. Where a relationship does not result in an enduring 
  mutual love or respect, the partners endure, maintaining family 
  stability for the sake of children and social reputation. As self 
  control is another pillar of Darrian culture, romantic extra-marital 
  affairs are frowned upon. 
  Each marriage produces an average of two or three children, 
  although these rates have been artificially stimulated several 
  times throughout the Darrian’s history, notably on the colony 
  worlds during the post-Maghiz period. Family names are 
  descended through the male line but in return the mother 
  receives the right to give the child its birth name (see Naming 
  Customs page XX).
  Children are raised to be respectful to elders and the community, 
  open minded to opposed thought and to seek knowledge. 
  Behaviour is reinforced by social ostracism, so that non-
  communal or selfish acts result in the exile of the perpetrator 
  from his or her peers. 
  Once a Darrian reaches their adolescence at about the age of 
  14, they are also taught self reliance. Any anti-social conduct 
  at this age is punished by the cessation of societal benefits, 
  cutting the youth off from food, shelter and transport until they 
  realise that they cannot function as a complete person without 
  the support of others. Continued rebellious behaviour generally 
  ends with the exile or occasional death (by starvation or 
  exposure) of the maladjusted individual. Whilst these measures 
  are viewed as unduly harsh by some worlds in the Imperium, 
  they are the cultural inheritance of tens of thousands of years 
  survival and few actually die from the alienation process unless 
  they expressly desire to do so; many choose exile to the world 
  of Rorre (see Darrian Worlds page XX).
  The age of majority, when a Darrian is legally considered 
  an adult, is 18 standard years. At this point the individual is 
  encouraged to leave home and lead a life for itself. Family 
  bonds remain tight though and during their declining years 
  parents are normally cared for by their children, grandchildren 
  or great grandchildren, cycling between them to reduce the 
  overall strain. 
  Community Structures
  Outside of the concept of family, the Darrians lack any small 
  tribal, clannish or national sense of identity. Rather they consider 
  themselves as unified planetary cultures and even hold that of 
  lesser importance to their identity as a Confederation. Although 
  each member world has subtle differences in culture and 
  tradition (to be expected considering the period of time each 
  planet evolved independently after the Maghiz), the period 
  since the return to interstellar spaceflight has knit the member 
  worlds together in a surprisingly homogenous civilisation. 
  Whether they are Darrian, Solomani or Aslan, citizens of the 
  Confederation consider themselves to be Darrians.
  In general, most Darrian societies attempt to be egalitarian 
  meritocracies. That is to say that everyone is treated equally and 
  nothing prevents the assumption of any position or authority, 
  save for personal capability. Social services and governance 
  are structured in suitably sized local authorities, dependant on 
  the geography and population distribution of each world. Some 
  operate on the village or city level, whilst on others it may be 
  continental. Obviously some worlds come closer to this ideal 
  than others, but it is always the goal.
  Spiritual and Philosophical Beliefs
  Religion to Darrians is a philosophical matter, an expression 
  of personal belief about divinities and the universe. Everyone 
  is free to believe or worship whatever they want, as long as it 
  causes no harm or inconvenience to others. The social functions 
  that religion is typically expected to perform (such as charitable 
  work, emotional support, youth activities, and counselling) are 
  instead fulfilled by a variety of associations and organizations.
  Most schools of philosophy are based upon courtesy, open-
  mindedness, rationality and respect for intelligence. Many 
  enjoy wide followings, but the common societal conventions 
  that encourage many diverse views also tend to keep such 
  views from having any political power. Darrians tend to make a 
  specific distinction between the philosophical or religious beliefs 
  of the individual and their political leanings. Many philosophical 
  teachers have large followings of those who agree with their 
  teachings, but these do not form political power blocs.
  Personal Excellence
  Darrians are encouraged to exert themselves during their 
  education to achieve their maximum potential. If a job is worth 
  doing, then it is worth doing well. This pursuit of excellence is 
  not limited to scientific subjects. Many Darrians excel at more 
  artistic crafts or physical activities.
  
  33
  As Darrian society emphasises cooperative effort, individualistic 
  accomplishment is regarded as having less worth than team 
  achievements, especially if said attainment is gained at the 
  expense of others. Two of the most contemptible crimes to be 
  accused of in Darrian society are plagiarism (including failure 
  to recognise a co-researcher) and lying about experimental 
  results.
  To aid continual development, non-military sensitive research 
  data is generally made widely available to help other scientists. 
  Likewise, Darrians gifted with physical or artistic skills are 
  awarded grants or apprenticeships to study under the leading 
  luminaries of their particular interest.
  Of course, not everyone can be the best at a particular skill. 
  Darrian psychology copes with this by granting great worth 
  to individuals who cross train in multiple disciplines. The 
  ‘renaissance man’ concept is highly regarded, since workplace 
  and social adaptability are vital. Many heroes of the Maghiz 
  were Darrians with a more general education, able to make 
  innovative applications of disparate fields of knowledge to 
  survive the shortages and general breakdown of technology.
  Tolerance
  The greatest strength of Darrian society is arguably an ability to 
  see problems from a multitude of different perspectives. This is 
  not empathy as such, rather a logical analysis of the situation 
  and extrapolating the results of a decision. Thus their tolerance 
  is a by-product of a pragmatic way of thinking, since intolerance 
  almost invariably leads to conflict, waste of resources and often 
  violence.
  Whilst most races would look upon this aspect of Darrian 
  psychology with a jaded eye, the cold reasoning is offset by 
  an often disarming good humour, since negotiating Darrians 
  generally project happiness and good humour. They take 
  pleasure in being tolerant, knowing it leads to a more 
  constructive and efficient future.
  Darrian tolerance does have its limits however. Certain crimes 
  such as cruelty, slander or assault are punished ruthlessly. Non-
  Darrians who repeatedly offend, lie or break contracts are banned 
  from the Confederacy. Tolerant does not equal stupid and many 
  foreigners who travel to the Darrian worlds to threaten, coerce or 
  con citizens, find themselves harshly treated.
  
  34
  Due to their unusual embracement of this trait, Darrians have a 
  reputation as pacifists, constitutionally unable to fight or defend 
  themselves or their territory. This cannot be further from the 
  truth. Threats by neighbouring civilisations are eventually dealt 
  with if negotiations fail to bear results but often in subtle ways 
  in an attempt to avoid open warfare. If no other option remains 
  to Darrians other than to fight, they demonstrate total social 
  commitment to battle and prove that their excellence is not just 
  limited to science.
  Stoicism
  In their own eyes, the Darrians have suffered a series of 
  catastrophes, each greater than the last. Despite these 
  setbacks they have survived, endured and used the lesson to 
  grow stronger. Whilst other races such as the Solomani or Vargr 
  consider these disasters insignificant (save for perhaps the 
  Maghiz) in comparison with their own histories full of wars, social 
  persecution and the Long Night, the Darrians have embraced 
  the concept of weathering any calamity. No matter how bad the 
  situation, how overwhelming the odds, Darrians accept that fate 
  is often stacked against them and do not complain but always 
  seek a way to persevere.
  This stoicism has also led to the Darrians developing a 
  congenital foresight, planning ahead to improve the likelihood 
  of survival. Even before the Maghiz, the scale of which caught 
  them off guard, they had been creating caches of technology 
  and knowledge against some unforeseen tragedy; many of 
  which still exist, ready to be rediscovered.
  governMent
  Although the member worlds of the Darrian Confederacy 
  each have their own type of government, they still aspire to 
  be egalitarian meritocracies. Thus any citizen (including Aslan 
  and the like) is capable of holding political office, but by and 
  large only the most skilled or knowledgeable are selected. 
  Thus a politician voted to the Ministry of Finance generally 
  has an education founded on economic theory and practice, a 
  wide body of respected publications, years of field work and is 
  regarded as a leading professor of the field by his peers. 
  The political organisation of the Confederation uses the 
  following structure:
  Municipal Government: One local officer is elected for every 
  1,000 citizens to oversee and represent his electorate. Local 
  in this sense can be a quite abstract term, since 1,000 citizens 
  may be the inhabitants of a densely packed city sector or 
  spread across a lightly populated continent. These officers 
  become de facto leaders during non-military catastrophes, if 
  communications or social structure breaks down.
  Planetary Government: Varies according to the world.
  Confederation Government: A collection of five bureaucracies, 
  known as Ministries, ruled by the Confederation Council. 
  The government of the Confederation is a loosely formed 
  bureaucracy. The Confederation bureaucracy is broken into 
  five areas of responsibility, the Ministries of Finance, Trade, 
  Information, Defence and Confederation Appeals.
  Unlike many worlds in the Imperium, the Darrian bureaucracy is 
  minimal, utilising only a fraction of the populace. The rationale 
  for Darrian bureaucratic efficiency is many-fold. The three 
  primary reasons are as follows:
  Darrian Honesty and Social Conscience: As part of their 
  upbringing and high standard of living, Darrians are inherently 
  honest. They do not try to fiddle their taxes or take advantage 
  of the welfare system, knowing that to do so will undermine 
  the system, and there is little for them to gain. So most 
  administrative tasks are based around self declaration via 
  centralised computer systems, each very easy to understand 
  due to simplified, global regulations. Thus few members of staff 
  are required to interact with the populace in general.
  Homogenous Records and Financial System: From birth 
  or acceptance as a Darrian citizen, all personal records and 
  finances are stored electronically. Although each planetary 
  database ostensibly holds only the detailed records of its 
  own population, they all share the exact same structure and 
  design. Cross checking data on a citizen from another planet 
  is a formality, merely requiring a delay of however long it takes 
  for the next data update to arrive from that world. Citizens who 
  anticipate needing to perform bureaucratic business off world, 
  usually request copies of their records being sent ahead before 
  needing to visit the planet in question. Since the Confederation is 
  a cashless society and accounts are indelibly linked to a Citizen’s 
  biometric ID, all financial transactions are easily accessible to 
  the authorities and automated programs run checks to detect 
  fraudulent activity. The same types of programs run within all 
  the other records such as welfare, employment and education 
  to ensure no oversights or mistakes are being made. 
  Dynamic Personnel Assignment: With most administration 
  tasks being fulfilled by citizens themselves and double-checked 
  by conflict checking software, what few bureaucratic staff 
  remain are usually assigned the purpose of aiding politicians to 
  adjudicate new problems, revise old systems or manage their 
  work schedules. Most bureaucrats have no set responsibilities 
  but are assigned to new projects as each previous one is 
  completed. Therefore bureaucratic staff are selected for their 
  versatility; with a good grounding in statistics, administration, 
  data analysis and up to half a dozen other social, financial and 
  natural sciences. Their task is not to be a greater specialist 
  than the elected politician but to convey to the politician the 
  interdependent effects any policy will have on other areas of 
  society or the environment.
  
  35
  During its climb from the ashes of the Maghiz, the Darrians 
  experimented with a number of different policies and interstellar 
  structures, due to a series of egocentric ministers who believed 
  their theories were superior. Over the centuries the Confederacy 
  has grown more homogenous and efficient. With the experience 
  of different roads taken, more radical politicians generally never 
  reach a position to be able to undermine the stability of the 
  system. Despite that, there is still a wide variety of political 
  and policy opinion throughout the Confederation. The current 
  structure is not ossified and rigid; it still changes and adapts to 
  new circumstances. However, any changes are taken in a much 
  more measured manner than that used in its early days.
  The Confederation government technically cannot directly 
  interfere in the running of any member world. However, to 
  become a member of the Confederation, each planet must 
  agree to a constitution that grants the base rules and regulations 
  of Darrian society to the population. All citizens on that world 
  must uphold these basic statutes but if desired the planetary 
  government may impose extra directives in addition to the 
  Confederation Constitution, as long as these do not create 
  conflicts. Likewise, municipal government may impose further 
  regulations specific to the local community.
  The Ministry of Finance
  The Ministry of Finance oversees both the collection of taxes and 
  the assignment of the annual budget from the collected monies. 
  Its task is made simpler due to the readily available banking 
  records of businesses and citizens. Taxes are automatically 
  culled from wages or business transactions. Additional revenue 
  is gained from the taxation of cargo brought into or leaving the 
  Confederacy, as are non-citizens visiting the worlds whether 
  they are businessmen or merely tourists. 
  Being an egalitarian society, the number of taxes are very few 
  but applied to all. A sliding scale is used to ensure no great 
  disparity occurs between the personal wealth of the poorest 
  and richest members of society. Anyone working within the 
  Confederacy (even non-citizens) is required by law to be paid 
  into a Darrian bank account where the money can be traced. 
  Many non-Darrian mega-corporations sometimes pay a second 
  salary to workers specifically sent into the Confederation to run 
  their business organisation, otherwise top executives would 
  have their locally disproportionate wages severely taxed.
  The ministry also sets the recommended pay for different 
  careers. Wages are weighted in terms of value towards society, 
  personal danger and the distastefulness of the work. Thus 
  sanitation engineers and military personnel have some of the 
  highest pay rates in the Confederation. As a symbol of faith and 
  loyalty to the Darrian people, politicians and bureaucrats are 
  paid a salary equal to the average wage on their homeworld.
  Since it is almost impossible to hide credit flow, and Darrians are 
  typically honest, Confederation taxes are relatively low compare 
  to other polities. As a general guideline, income tax starts at 
  a base of 10% of earnings. Planetary taxes are in addition to 
  this, and can vary according to the inclination of that world’s 
  government, but rarely ever exceed the Confederation tax level. 
  In addition, passengers arriving at any Confederation world are 
  subject to a Cr25 arrival tax. Hauled cargo is charged a Cr50 
  per ton transit fee when delivered to a world’s starport, whereas 
  speculative trade as described in Book 7: Merchant Prince is 
  only taxed at half the going rate, making the Confederation a 
  lucrative market.
  Ministry of Trade
  The responsibilities of the Ministry of Trade concern the flow 
  of interstellar commerce between the member worlds and the 
  regulation of goods both entering and exiting the Confederacy. 
  They also supervise the numbers and control of interstellar 
  travellers. They record all the data concerning trade volume, 
  publishing statistics for businesses to use for market research.
  The secondary function of the Ministry is to maintain transport 
  standards, starport infrastructure and ensure product quality. 
  This is done by a combination of legislation and random spot 
  checks. In addition, the bureau employs customs officers who 
  investigate all cargo entering or leaving each world, checking 
  for illicit materials or Darrian high tech artefacts. Unlike the 
  usual customs officials, Darrian administrators are carefully 
  selected for politeness and good humour, to avoid alienating 
  foreign traders.
  Ministry of Information
  The Ministry of Information is a peculiarly Darrian institution. 
  Because of the Darrian preoccupation with research, the 
  Ministry of Information was created as a centralized system 
  for recording the results of research and disseminating that 
  information to all who want to use it. The Ministry of Information 
  handles such diverse aspects of information as research 
  subsidies, copyright registration, archival storage of all available 
  information, publication of important data and statistics, and 
  the establishment of standards for information transfer. The 
  ministry maintains the Court of Information to hear complaints 
  of inaccuracy or plagiarism, including charges of personal 
  slander and libel, since these too are misrepresentations of 
  objective facts.
  Ministry of Defence
  This ministry coordinates the defence of the Confederacy as 
  a whole. Economically, all Darrian worlds maintain their own 
  defences but the Ministry of Defence sets the minimum military 
  requirements for each planet. The majority of these forces are 
  kept on a reserve status. In the event of an emergency, units are 
  
  36
  activated and placed under the command of the Confederation. 
  To supplement local forces, the Confederation also funds and 
  trains its own core fleet of ships and a number of brigades, 
  named the Confederation Navy and the Confederation Guard 
  respectively.
  The Ministry of Defence also controls a third branch, called the 
  Special Arm. A small and highly select force, it is responsible for 
  the deployment and maintenance of the Star Trigger weapon 
  system. Since this ultimate weapon is the major deterrent 
  preventing annexation of the Confederation by the Zhodani 
  Consulate, the branch is surrounded by a heavy layer of security 
  and provided with its own fleet of advanced ships with which to 
  deploy the system to other stars.
  Ministry of Confederation Appeals
  The Ministry of Confederation Appeals is the supreme arbiter 
  of disputes within the Darrian Confederation. It does not handle 
  criminal cases (they are handled by the courts of each world). 
  Rather it considers civil cases which have already been tried 
  and judged on a local world and are then appealed to the 
  Court. In addition, the ministry considers disputes between 
  individual Confederation worlds and between the Confederation 
  government and its member worlds. Its court has the power to 
  overturn orders by the Confederation government or to force 
  compliance by the individual worlds. Even worlds whose 
  militaries are more powerful than the local Confederation forces 
  traditionally comply with adverse rulings without complaint.
  The Confederation Council
  Above the five ministries of the Confederation bureaucracy, sits 
  the Confederation Council. The Council is composed of one 
  representative of each world in the Confederation. The council 
  member is selected by the government of the individual world 
  in whatever manner it deems appropriate. For example, the 
  representative of Zamine (a balkanized world) is elected by the 
  leadership of all of the nations of Zamine. The representative 
  of Terant 340 (a charismatic dictatorship) is appointed by that 
  world’s dictator. Since Engrange is currently a colony of Ilium, it 
  does not get a representative. Each representative is appointed 
  for a term of four years and may be reappointed any number of 
  times. The Confederation Council meets in weekly sessions.
  The capital of the Confederation is Mire. The Confederation’s 
  bureaucracies are all based on Mire, as is the Confederation 
  Council. Each Council member is accorded an office with a 
  supporting staff to handle basic correspondence, legal queries, 
  research, and the other details which must be dealt with by 
  major political figures.
  laW
  Whilst laws can vary between member worlds, each has 
  inherited a set of decrees based on the 20,000 year old Taledh 
  Codes, which are a guide to correct living and forbid murder, 
  theft, assault, slander and cruelty. However, the legal codes 
  are merely guidelines for judges, not rigidly defined laws, and 
  therefore require interpretation in the courts. In general, Darrian 
  law is based upon the ethics of each case, rather than the 
  technical application of legislative loopholes or prior rulings.
  In theory, there is no difference between criminal and civil law. 
  Both harm society and as such are treated with equal severity. A 
  plaintiff has two options when seeking justice, either taking the 
  case to court, or having it settled by arbitration. In practice most 
  criminal cases are taken to court, unless the crime is minor.
  Arbitration requires a case to be brought before an accredited 
  scholar of philosophical law. The individuals involved enter a 
  binding contract to agree with the final decision of the scholar, 
  whatever it may be. Once those formalities are completed, the 
  individuals make their own presentations, lasting no more than 
  an hour, to the scholar who cogitates upon the information 
  presented before making a ruling. The scholar decides how to 
  settle the dispute and any punishments or fines to be paid. His 
  word is final and cannot be overturned or re-ruled unless the 
  scholar himself is found to have acted in a criminal manner.
  Some of the judgements inflicted by arbitration can be rather 
  unusual and, as such, the most popular scholars are those with 
  a sharp wit and a sense of humour. For example a case brought 
  before a scholar over the non-payment of rent by tenants, may 
  end up with the landlord forfeiting ownership of the property to 
  the renters for imposing unfairly high rental fees or failing to 
  maintain the lease holding properly. Famous cases include a 
  past Minister of Finance who attempted to sue the sanitation 
  services for allowing a drain to backup and was forced to clean 
  out the sewage pipe by hand when it was found that his own 
  family was disposing of inappropriate waste down the toilets.
  Although arbitration is the normal form of seeking justice in 
  Darrian society, due to the speed at which judgements can be 
  made, it cannot impose capital punishments or exile for serious 
  crimes. For these full courts are required.
  Courts require a gathering of at least three government 
  councillors (or local officers on smaller worlds) to witness cases 
  which may result in the necessity of capital punishments, such 
  as imprisonment, exile or death. The plaintiff in most court cases 
  is the government itself, either law enforcement or one of the 
  ministries. The court is presided over by a respected arbitration 
  scholar of many years experience, who first vets the case to 
  ensure it is serious enough to warrant a full court. Government 
  employed advocates are randomly selected to serve as either 
  prosecution or defence. The case is limited to a single day in 
  which both the prosecution and defence have an equal period 
  of time to present evidence. The witnessing councillors are 
  given until the following day to reach a verdict of guilty or not 
  
  37
  guilty of the charges presented. If no unanimous decision is 
  reached before the end of this period, which can occur with 
  larger numbers of witnessing councillors, a vote is held and the 
  majority opinion carried. The sentence is set by the scholar.
  Since court cases take up an entire day, they are held no more 
  than once weekly and usually more intermittently; often leading 
  to a backlog of cases to be judged. 
  Between the length of time waiting for a full court case or the 
  sometimes arbitrary nature of arbitration judgements, there is 
  a third form of dealing with disputes. Private Settlement is the 
  consensual agreement between individuals to prevent more 
  serious penalties of a threatened arbitration or court case. In 
  such cases an ‘eye for an eye’ methodology is commonly used 
  instead of financial reimbursement or compensation, so that the 
  perpetrator of the injustice experiences what he has caused the 
  plaintiff. Such settlements are usually presided over by envoys 
  that remain scrupulously neutral during negotiations.
  Darrian Exile
  Exile is a unique form of punishment rarely seen outside the 
  Darrian Confederation, which fascinates sociologists from the 
  Imperium. Its use is reserved for ‘criminals’ who transgress 
  socially acceptable codes of behaviour, but pose no direct 
  threat of physical harm or potential sabotage. In general those 
  who refuse to willingly work within or contribute towards Darrian 
  society are simply ejected from the care of that society.
  Such misdemeanours can vary widely and no rigid list exists. 
  Consistent failure to pay taxes, persistent public rudeness or 
  avoiding an initial term of service in the military if dropping out 
  of graduate education are all common methods of suffering 
  exile. The effect of being exiled is the immediate freezing of the 
  exile’s bank accounts and computer access, and being given 
  the cold shoulder by all those aware of the sentence. Lacking 
  credit access soon makes life extremely difficult for an exile, 
  being unable to purchase food, pay rent or use public transport. 
  Most are forced to move into rural regions to live as scavengers 
  until their sentence expires, or accept a one way ticket out of the 
  Confederation entirely.
  The duration of exile can vary according to the severity of the 
  crime. Minor transgressions last for a week or month, enough 
  time to help the exile realise that they cannot survive long 
  outside of society and thus it is better to conform to its modest 
  requirements, instead of trying to cheat or rebel against it. More 
  serious crimes such as large scale theft or industrial negligence 
  which directly hurt others can result in a term of exile lasting 
  years or decades. Only the most heinous of crimes like treason 
  or sedition against the Confederation result in being exiled for 
  life.
  Those sentenced to exile are completely outside of the law 
  and have no access to social services. Therefore an exile can 
  be maltreated with impunity, frequently being ‘encouraged’ to 
  move on by local inhabitants who use an escalating series 
  of techniques which range from polite ignoring up to physical 
  assault. Exiles considered to be a threat to property or life 
  are at risk of serious injury, for which of course they cannot 
  receive medical treatment, barred as they are from hospitals 
  and doctors. Most exiles are generally identifiable from their 
  shabby clothing, poor hygiene and their unhealthy greyish tan 
  complexion.
  Although such a sentence seems inhumane to other cultures, 
  and even out of character with Darrian philosophical beliefs, 
  becoming exiled is considered an educational lesson. Those 
  who serve out their term are welcomed back into society, their 
  past misdeeds cleared by the purging experience. During their 
  exile however, no aid or consideration can be extended to them, 
  for fear of undermining the purpose of the punishment. In fact, 
  family or friends who are caught aiding an exile are vulnerable 
  to being charged for a criminal act, though this does not always 
  prevent a subtle act of kindness now and then to help an exile 
  survive their term.
  Criminals psychologically predisposed to inflicting further 
  serious crimes involving violence or destruction, murderers 
  or arsonists for example, are either incarcerated or executed 
  instead of being exiled.
  soCial serviCes
  Life within the Darrian Confederacy is extremely good 
  compared with neighbouring subsectors. Part of this is due to 
  the communal nature inherent in Darrian culture, which provides 
  extensive social services. Darrians tend to support those 
  who are willing to contribute to the whole. They also see the 
  necessity of providing thorough education and health services.
  Employment
  Almost 98.7% of Darrians are employed. Jobs are readily 
  available for those with the correct education and the 
  employment rate is carefully maintained by government grants 
  to set up new businesses or refurbish infrastructure. The biggest 
  employers in the Confederation besides the ubiquitous service 
  and manufacturing industries are the innumerable research 
  departments of the Confederation Universities.
  Welfare
  Whilst Darrians embrace the philosophy of Stoicism, they 
  recognise the need to support members of society who suffer 
  bad fortune. However, unproductive members of society are 
  not tolerated and those seeking support during extended 
  
  38
  unemployment are either assigned simple labour duties or 
  drafted for another term in the military. Welfare has generous, 
  but strict, limits. Once exhausted, a citizen must maintain a job 
  for an extended time before being eligible for welfare again.
  Health
  All citizens have free access to health care. Since most 
  worlds have access to reasonably high medical technology 
  most Darrians lead full active, healthy lives until they reach 
  advanced old age. Like most of the Imperium, Darrians have 
  an underlying distrust of cybernetic replacements, mostly from 
  a worry of how technology failed after the Maghiz. Most patients 
  prefer biological replacement parts cloned from their own flesh, 
  sometimes requiring transport to a neighbouring system to 
  gain access to the correct technology. The use of anagathics 
  is not sponsored by the Confederation government but the 
  governments of less densely populated worlds often turn a blind 
  eye to their importation. 
  Emergency Services
  Darrians maintain overly redundant emergency services, 
  prepared for most conceivable eventualities. As well as 
  more traditional fire and ambulance departments, they have 
  specialised units to cope with biological contamination, radiation 
  spills, virulent pandemics, flood protection and so on. By 
  mutual consent every world has enough shielded subterranean 
  bunkers to shelter its indigenous population for six months, in 
  case of planetary invasion or a repeat of the Maghiz event.
  Police
  Darrian police departments are smaller than those in the 
  Imperium, since the number of crimes per capita is significantly 
  lower. Police are universally armed with stunners but rarely 
  expect to use them. Officers are trained in psychology and act 
  as on-the-spot councillors, often preventing the need for any 
  legal action to settle disputes or misunderstandings.
  Education
  Children begin their education from the age of five. They spend 
  the next 13 years developing a broad base of education and at 
  the age of 18 they leave university and must either undertake 
  compulsory military service or continue a postgraduate 
  education. Just over half choose to continue learning; 
  specialising in a specific subject. 
  Culture
  Darrian culture is a unique mix of ancient traditions and 
  Solomani innovations. 
  Dress 
  Formal Darrian dress is full sleeved tunics or robes with 
  embroidered cuffs and lapels, belted at the waist, worn over 
  trousers for men and skirts for women. Embroidered waistcoats 
  are worn over the tunic for very formal occasions. Formal 
  footwear is knee length boots, decorated with further embroidery 
  or complex pattern lacing. Casual wear tends to be sleeveless 
  tunics with loose baggy slacks, allowing a greater degree of 
  motion. Preferred informal footwear is sandals with distinctive 
  cut-outs and straps. 
  Darrians do not tend to wear multiple layers unless it becomes 
  seriously cold, relying on their metabolism to keep warm. They 
  prefer lightweight fabrics, taking pleasure in a range of different 
  textures from soft to silky. Comfort is preeminent. If forced 
  by local conditions, hooded over-tunics are worn to prevent 
  hypothermia but more practical Solomani clothing such as 
  coats, gloves and hats are deemed too constricting and a sign 
  of indolence.
  Darrians tend to avoid wearing jewellery save for social 
  events. Instead they wear functional communication devices, 
  incorporated into bracelets, rings or headbands and personal 
  computers built into ornate belts. Most also wear a wrist or 
  ankle band emergency rescue beacon if travelling away from 
  civilisation. Personal ornamentation is based more on how 
  the Darrians wear their hair. The length, style, beading and 
  colouration can be quite fanciful. Youthful Darrians usually have 
  big and bold styles with plenty of sparkling adornment. As they 
  age however, the styles take on a more simplistic tone and a 
  plain mullet or plat can grant an aura of gravitas.
  Art
  Darrian artists excel in almost every medium from music 
  to floral arrangement. Their artwork is one of the major 
  exports of the Confederation, some artists possessing 
  faithful connoisseurs even amongst alien species located 
  several sectors away. Aside from their exceptional painters, 
  composers, playwrights and authors, one particular art form 
  reigns supreme; gravitic art.
  The most famous form of gravitic art is Flame Sculpture. 
  Originally developed on the homeworld of Daryen prior to the 
  Maghiz, technicians stumbled on the idea of shaping gas flames 
  with gravitic generators, moulding them into unusual shapes. 
  Their original objective was to design hyper efficient cutting 
  torch heads but somebody took the idea and used it to create 
  fanciful company logos, constraining the flickering flames into 
  simple letters, akin to early florescent signs. Artisans took the 
  concept and began to generate exquisite three dimensional 
  images, anything from busts to full landscapes.
  Flame Sculptures have several forms. The earliest, and arguably 
  purest, is the static image where the shape of the sculpture 
  never changes, just the flickering of the internal flames. Most of 
  these sculptures are Darrians in classical postures or animals.
  
  39
  More complex sculptures add additional elements, such as 
  chemically tinted flames, granting them unusual colours. The 
  most advanced are dynamic, changing the form of the sculpture 
  between a series of different images related to a common 
  theme, or the most complex, constantly morphing between 
  thousands of randomly generated geometric shapes. The best 
  sculptures can mesmerise viewers with their ethereal beauty 
  and are often used by psychiatric therapists to relax patients.
  Darrian flame sculptures are categorised according to the 
  date they were crafted. The rarest are classed as Early Period 
  coming from before the Maghiz; and the Night Period (–921 
  to –200) after the Maghiz struck. With the reformation of the 
  Confederacy comes the Neoclassical Period (–200 to 850) 
  where the technique and technology returned to common use 
  and colour began to be added. The Modern Period (850 to 
  current date) sees the introduction of animation and reaches 
  a new artistic pinnacle. Examples of Darrian Flame Sculpture 
  have even been displayed in the capital of the Imperium.
  Due to their rarity, few of the early sculptures are ever let 
  outside of the Confederacy, regarded as national treasures. 
  Modern sculptures are actually booby trapped by their creators, 
  safely self destructing on opening to protect the secrets of 
  their construction. Although the technique has been reverse 
  engineered by a few hi-tech worlds, few artists outside of the 
  Confederation appear to have the finesse to match the Darrians 
  idiosyncratic creativity and skill.
  Flame Sculptures are only one branch of gravitic art, as the 
  same principles can be used with a range of mediums. Darrians 
  apply the techniques to flowing water, narcotic incense smoke 
  or even falling snow or flower petals.
  Architecture
  Akin to their Aslan brethren, Darrians prefer buildings with an 
  organic feel to them. Whilst straight walls are more practical, 
  they are considered soulless and square architecture is avoided 
  except for the construction of emergency shelters or technology 
  caches where space must be used at its most efficient.
  Favoured building styles are circular, semi-circular or oval 
  shaped rooms and domed roofs. These preferences hearken 
  back to the time when Darrians still lived in the Orchard Trees 
  of their homeworld. Hundreds of thousands of years living in 
  symbiotic relationship with the trees has placed an indelible 
  feeling of security when residing inside curved walls.
  Similar to Aslan tradition, Darrian architects and engineers 
  never construct the same building twice. Even mass 
  produced, prefabricated housing is made distinctly unique 
  by the inclusion of random variables to each home as it is 
  formed on the manufacturing line. An additional touch is that 
  most Darrian buildings are surrounded by trees and gardens, 
  specially landscaped to appear natural, rather than designed. 
  This predilection also extends inside their homes and work 
  environments, with specially bred plants growing up walls or 
  across ceilings. Underground dwellings have captured sunlight 
  channelled to false windows or roof ports and fresh air gently 
  wafts in fits and starts through rooms to complete the illusion. 
  Darrians dislike building cities with towering skyscrapers in the 
  middle of an open landscape. If a town is built in a rainforest, 
  then no building is permitted to extend more than a few metres 
  above the canopy and paths connecting the buildings weave 
  organically between the native vegetation. Transport links and 
  infrastructure are constructed in tunnels below ground so as to 
  not spoil the environment.
  Huge skyscrapers and arcologies are built in more precipitous 
  regions, where they can be excavated out of (or butted against) 
  natural cliffs or mountains. External appearance always 
  compliments or mimics the local surroundings.
  Recreation
  Whilst most Darrians find contentment in work, they also like 
  to relax and spend time pursuing other diversions. By far the 
  greatest interest to the majority of Darrians is the pursuit of 
  knowledge. Most continue to improve their education as an 
  informal hobby, reading up on whatever specialisation they took 
  during their university internship. A few strive to make further 
  breakthroughs in their subject, or discover new interdisciplinary 
  relationships by analysing published research of different fields.
  In fact the Darrian thirst for discovering and analysing new 
  knowledge often colours their conversations. Debates are more 
  often held over scientific concepts rather than politics.
  Travelling is the other major form of personal entertainment. 
  Darrians love to travel and soak up new places, people 
  and experiences. One of the biggest industries within the 
  Confederation is tourism, both internally and out to the worlds 
  of the Imperium.
  The arts also hold a significant role in Darrian recreation. Theatre 
  and concerts are very popular since people like to witness 
  the skill of live performances, rather than be deceived by the 
  technical wizardry of polished, or perhaps artificially tweaked, 
  holovid recordings. Communal entertainment is another 
  popular activity, such as singing or storytelling, and especially 
  improvised theatre where the audience can participate. Group 
  dances are also favoured.
  Likewise art exhibitions are highly appreciated for the skill of the 
  craftsmanship and emotive nature of some artworks, depending 
  on the medium. Darrians gain a great deal of satisfaction in 
  personally creating unique objects, whether they are articles of 
  clothing, flame sculptures or even breeding flowers. 
  
  40
  Sport is a lesser form of recreation. Team sports are played 
  for enjoyment, being one of the few areas of Darrian society 
  where open competitiveness is actively encouraged, although 
  good humour and sportsmanlike behaviour is always expected. 
  Personal activities such as distance running or tree climbing are 
  as much spiritual as physical exercises, allowing the Darrian 
  to maintain fitness whilst clearing their mind at the same time.
  darrian Corporations
  An important part of the Darrian Confederation is the commerce 
  and industry linking the member worlds together. Many Darrian 
  Corporations are generations old, having slowly evolved to fit 
  the financial niche they currently fill. The conservative nature of 
  Darrian society makes it difficult for new companies to become 
  established on the interstellar level, although many Imperium 
  corporations continue to slowly worm their way in to the Darrian 
  markets. Recent instability and loss of worlds in the Entropic 
  cluster has caused a number of established firms to fold, 
  opening the field for newer enterprises.
  Darrian corporations are generally owned and run by extended 
  families, which fill most of the executive positions. Where a 
  franchise is extended onto a new Confederation world, a local 
  family is selected to host that branch of the company and the 
  deal is usually sealed by a marriage between the two. 
  No exclusive concessions or monopolies are granted within the 
  Confederation. All corporations are legally forced to compete 
  on a level playing field. Those which reach interstellar status 
  achieve their success by talent and intelligent market analysis; 
  corruption is relatively unknown within Darrian society, although 
  it is possible that some organisations use external agents to 
  manipulate markets in their favour.
  Since the Confederation is small and wedged against two semi-
  hostile polities, there are currently no Darrian Megacorporations, 
  although this situation may change if the existing corporations 
  begin to develop and sell TL 16 goods.
  Major Corporations
  The following are some of the major corporations within the 
  Darrian Confederation. 
  Tharnitia Denus: Operated by the Darrian Confederation 
  government as an enterprise similar to a postal system, 
  Tharnitia Denus (the name means Transport Company) 
  maintains terminals on all worlds in the Confederation. Purely 
  an internal shipping company, it does not carry goods beyond 
  the Darrian borders.
  The majority of Tharnitia vessels are either Rehld class couriers, 
  which make up the Confederation-wide Jump-4 communication 
  network, and a lesser number of Mbogh class freighters 
  which carry the more modest volume of physical parcels. As a 
  government supported operation, strict protocols are placed on 
  the security of mail.
  An attack made on Tharnitia Danus ships or the theft of mail 
  is always investigated thoroughly, and if the perpetrators are 
  identified, punitive action is taken, even if this requires travel 
  outside of the Confederation. The company maintains its 
  own agents to fulfil this role, and when necessary offers large 
  bounties for the recovery of missing mail.
  Frendi Marshikan: Frendi Marshikan (which translates as 
  Interworld Express) is the primary Darrian subsector interface 
  transportation company – focussing on shipping cargo and 
  passengers between the Confederation and the Sword Worlds 
  and Five Sisters subsectors. It operates several interstellar 
  routes, including one to Gram, one to Narsil, and one to Iderati.
  Due to the state of hostility between Darrian and the Sword 
  Worlds, Frendi Marshikan is underwritten by the Confederation 
  Government which insures against unforeseen conflict or 
  piracy. Despite the antagonism a significant amount of trade still 
  passes through the Sword Worlds, which is sometimes subject 
  to punitive taxes depending on the current level of hostility 
  between the two polities.
  To help avoid becoming targets for sanctioned piracy, Frendi 
  Marshikan operates an eclectic fleet of heavily armed vessels, a 
  large number of which are Nalumb class far traders. In addition, 
  the company hires only the most diplomatic of bridge officers 
  to staff their vessels, in order to head off potential problems 
  with belligerent port authorities. Crews are ‘unofficially’ trained 
  in urban combat in case of situations where part of a ship’s 
  compliment experience difficulties on foreign soil. 
  Iro Inc.: A well known Darrian Corporation amongst Imperium 
  nobility and adventurers is Iro Inc, which has a reputation 
  of selling cutting edge weapon technology up to TL 15. It 
  specialises in armour, personnel and support weaponry and 
  also has a comprehensive range of survival, exploration and 
  hunting equipment. Its impeccable reputation comes from the 
  quality of its merchandise and the lifetime guarantee given on 
  every purchase. 
  The company’s reputation is based on the reliability of its 
  products along with the ability to craft custom made equipment. 
  If you want your Battle Dress enamelled with your family coat 
  of arms, or have the stock of your Big Game Rifle carved from 
  the Gnarr tusk you shot, then Iro Inc. are the people to go to. 
  The Corporation’s craftsmen are masters at their art and also in 
  ergonomic design. Any personalised weapon purchased from 
  them reduces Recoil or Heft by one point, due to the quality. 
  Personalised armour and equipment has its mass reduced by 
  10%.
  
  41
  Iro Inc. is based on Mire where it serves many of the 
  executives and diplomats who visit the capital. Its research 
  and development department is on Daryen itself where it has 
  access to the highest Tech Level manufacturing equipment in 
  the subsector. The company maintains at least a small office 
  on every Confederation world with a B Class Starport or better. 
  These branch offices are extremely well defended with the best 
  security available, augmented with highly trained and loyal 
  guards, recruited from ex-military personnel with outstanding 
  service records. The smaller offices do not sustain a large 
  stock, especially of heavier weapons and must place squad 
  level orders with the home office.
  Viking Lines: Viking started off as a small company with a 
  single Solomani tramp liner, based in Engrange. It offered 
  cheap cruises to graduating Darrians who wished to visit the 
  other Confederation worlds nearby. The trips proved to be 
  inordinately popular, despite the company being censured for 
  allowing unsupervised raucous parties and vast amounts of 
  alcohol to be consumed aboard. The budget cruise line gambled 
  on its popularity and took out loans to expand its fleet of ships. 
  The risk paid off and Viking Lines has grown into the largest 
  passenger transit corporation in the subsector.
  The company caters to mid-range customers, offering 
  reasonable accommodation and food but no luxuries. It 
  prospers on its reputation for always keeping to schedule and 
  never having lost a vessel to break down or pirates. It combines 
  passenger accommodation with some bulk cargo capacity, 
  using mid-sized liners ranging from 400 to 1,000 tons. Its fleet 
  now numbers 26 vessels with single ships assigned to minor 
  world routes. It is jokingly regarded as the Confederation’s 
  Second Armada. It avoids competing with Tharnitia Denus, the 
  Confederation subsidised freight transporters, by specialising 
  in passenger cruises over cargo. Frendi Marshikin, the other 
  government subsidised haulage company, caters to a different 
  customer base, those transporting or travelling to the Sword 
  Worlds and the Five Sisters subsectors. 
  As a mark of respect, the original tramp liner still continues 
  to run its original ‘booze cruise’ and is priced for university 
  students. Many parents on Engrange see the trip as a rite of 
  passage, having performed the same cruise themselves when 
  they were young. The ancient vessel has been completely 
  refurbished three times during its career and is beloved by all 
  the employees of the corporation, seen as the foundation of its 
  luck and prosperity. Retiring captains are posted to the ship in 
  their last year of employment as a reward for their service.
  Zloril: An electronics company specialising in computers, 
  comms equipment, and telecommunications infrastructure. It 
  designs and produces EMP proof TL15 gear, which is highly 
  sought after by most of the worlds in the Confederation. Like 
  Iro Inc. its manufacturing base is on Daryen, the only world with 
  factories capable of etching or growing many of the cutting edge 
  components. 
  Zloril has a virtual monopoly on the telecoms infrastructure 
  of the major Darrian worlds. Funded by the Confederation 
  Council, the planetary networks have been both standardised 
  and hardened against apocalyptic catastrophes. They combine 
  several layers of redundancy, with the primary communication 
  channels supplied by surface based microwave broadcast 
  towers and backed up by deep buried fibre optic networks. 
  Although the corporation supplies the technology and 
  engineering maintenance, the network design and security is 
  controlled by the Special Arm of the Ministry of Defence.
  Since Zloril’s manufacturing output is primarily consumed by 
  providing planetary infrastructure, the huge market for cheaper, 
  mass produced electronics is partially catered for by cheaper 
  imports from the Imperium.
  Almost every world has a store that acts as a distributer for Zloril 
  electronics. The higher population worlds have retailers that 
  exclusively stock their equipment, which is always at the leading 
  edge of development. It is rumoured that as an offshoot of its 
  StandIn screening service (see Communication Technology 
  page XX) the company is at the point of being able to create 
  Artificial Intelligence, which if true will make them a vast amount 
  of wealth and the target of every industrial espionage agent in 
  the sector.
  Pthanth Shipyards: The Pthanth Corporation operates two 
  shipyards in orbit around Daryen and Mire respectively. They 
  are capable of constructing and repairing TL15 ships. The yards 
  are extensive, the Daryen yards having 12 bays and the Mire 
  yards possessing eight, each bay capable of constructing or 
  repairing ships of up to 5,000 tons apiece. Although this capacity 
  seems excessive in comparison to nominal construction orders 
  and competing construction facilities, the Pthanth yards above 
  Daryen are fully booked for the next 10 years and those at Mire 
  are kept busy with a constant stream of refurbishment contracts.
  Pthanth employs ex-naval architects combining Darrian 
  aesthetics with Solomani practicality. The resulting fusion 
  produces ships that tend to exhibit sweeping curves and a very 
  high efficiency. Thus far the corporation has only developed 
  mercantile or research vessels but rumours abound of a new 
  top secret class of military ship being constructed, which seems 
  to be borne out by the increased security and picketing of the 
  Daryen shipyard with system defence boats.
  Dhoshu Systems: A Corporation focusing on food production, 
  preservation systems and transport. Dhoshu primarily grows 
  and ships exotic fruit and vegetables across the subsector. 
  They have a reputation for both quality and freshness, using 
  proprietary methods of shipping such as irradiation, tailored 
  
  42
  retroviruses rumoured to be similar to Anagathics and 
  sustenance vines, which allow the fruit to mature correctly, just 
  as it reaches its destination.
  Having a high degree of bioengineering expertise, a large part 
  of the Corporation’s income is generated through grants from 
  the Confederation Council to develop terraforming bacterium 
  and plants that bind heavy metals or chemical poisons to 
  remove them from an ecosystem with an eye towards repairing 
  the ecological damage of more industrialised planets such as 
  Stern-Stern.
  Dhoshu freights its bulk foodstuffs, such as grain, via bulk 
  cargo transports but manages its own small flotilla of custom 
  fitted traders for shipping those delicate fruits or tubers that 
  have a short shelf life. Their base of operations is Ilium where 
  they grow the majority of their products but also have smaller 
  farming complexes on Ektron and Mire where they raise other 
  crops more suited to those environments. The company has 
  a policy of allowing young students to work passage aboard 
  their ships. In exchange for a free trip to wherever the ship is 
  destined, they tend to the crops. The work is hard and the hours 
  long, but is considered a worthwhile experience. Occasionally 
  a young Darrian inspired by the experience becomes willing to 
  join the company scholarship program, netting Dhoshu new 
  talented and enthusiastic employees.
  the Military
  The Confederation military is divided between colonial planetary 
  forces and Confederation forces funded by the Ministry of 
  Defence. Planetary forces are, by their nature, normally 
  stationed on their own world but can be seconded to other 
  planets, either to reinforce their strength during times of war or 
  to perform large scale military exercises.
  Strictly speaking the military has three arms, the Navy, the 
  Guard and the Special Arm. The Confederation forces are 
  generally better trained and equipped. Darrians do not use 
  mercenaries, not trusting their self restraint or loyalty. However, 
  the Confederation sometimes accepts aid from the Imperium, 
  coordinating counter-invasion or espionage missions alongside 
  Imperial Marines or Special Forces. The Confederation 
  also accepts military aid in the form of a covert program that 
  exchanges technological information with the Imperium in 
  exchange for building its capital ships, which are too large for 
  the most advanced Darrian shipyards to construct.
  Darrians do not enjoy or glorify war. Despite their reputation as 
  pacifists, when forced into a situation with no other option but to 
  fight, they are coldly rational and focussed on survival, making 
  them implacable foes. They improve odds in their favour by 
  equipping their forces with the best military technology they can 
  design and surgical application of the limited TL16 and TL17 
  weaponry they have reserved for such situations. As such, the 
  Confederacy packs a punch far larger than should be possible 
  by a small federation. If pushed to all out war, then almost half 
  the population can be mobilised, ensuring that enemy forces 
  occupying their worlds will suffer horrific losses.
  Naval Organisation
  The navy is organised into two tiers. Planetary navies patrol their 
  local system, being responsible for piracy suppression, search 
  and rescue operations and system defence. The Confederation 
  Navy is responsible for exploration, border patrols and strategic 
  defence of the Confederation itself. Although outnumbered by 
  their planetary naval brethren, Confederation officers hold a 
  superior rank and are able to commandeer local ships during 
  military or civil emergencies. The officer concerned must have a 
  good reason for the order; else find themselves court-martialled 
  after the event.
  Planetary navies are financially supported by their home 
  government, so smaller systems usually have fewer ships and 
  may have running costs subsidised by the Confederation. Most 
  of their colonial warships are TL13 cruisers and escorts handed 
  down from the Confederation Navy, which itself is in the process 
  of replacing its older vessels with updated TL15 versions 
  secretly imported from the Imperium. System defence boats 
  are universally Daryen built TL15 versions. Taken together 
  with their ancient TL16 vessels the Darrians arguably have the 
  most advanced navy in the whole of the Spinward Marches. 
  Instead of mothballing obsolete colonial elements, the Ministry 
  of Defence takes them in exchange for newer replacements, 
  guts them and transforms the vessels into lightly armed fleet 
  tenders.
  Most of the Darrian planets uphold unusually large squadrons, 
  due to recent hostilities in 1084 when the Entropic Worlds 
  were annexed by increasingly aggressive Sword Worlders. 
  In addition Darrian sociological analysts have predicted the 
  imminent reopening of direct conflict between the Zhodani and 
  the Imperium. Thus as part of rebuilding their losses from the 
  Fourth Frontier War the Confederation is preparing itself for 
  the forecasted outbreak of fighting. Whilst the lower population 
  worlds cannot afford as significant home fleets as the major 
  Darrian planets, those bordering the Sword Worlds are usually 
  bolstered with elements of the Confederation Navy.
  The current colonial squadron distribution is listed in the 
  following table. Note that some ships are attached to the 
  Confederation Navy for training and may not be present in 
  their home system. This includes system defence boats, for 
  which the navy possesses SDB Transports. The ships listed 
  for Laberv, Ilium, Mire, Nosea and Spume describe their home 
  squadron only, not the additional Confederation Navy warships 
  normally stationed at the naval bases.
  
  43
  Hex
  System
  Cruisers
  Escorts
  Defence Boats
  0203
  Stern-Stern
  1 Light Cruiser
  2 Destroyers
  8
  0305
  Laberv
  None
  2 Frigates
  4 
  0306
  Ektron
  2 Light Cruisers
  2 Destroyers, 2 Frigates
  8 
  0401
  Zamine
  3 Assault, 2 Light
  6 Destroyers, 6 Frigates
  24 
  0405
  Engrange
  1 heavy, 2 light
  2 Destroyers, 4 Frigates
  12
  0406
  Ilium
  2 heavy, 2 light
  4 Destroyers, 4 Frigates
  16
  0407
  Roget
  1 heavy, 2 light
  2 Destroyers, 4 Frigates
  12
  0506
  Rorre
  None
  None
  8
  0507
  Mire
  2 heavy, 4 light
  6 Destroyers, 6 Frigates
  24 
  0602
  Terant 340
  1 light
  4 Destroyers
  12
  0604
  Jacent
  2 light
  2 Destroyers, 2 Frigates
  8
  0607
  Daryen
  2 heavy, 3 light
  4 Destroyers, 6 Frigates
  24 
  0703
  Trifuge
  1 light
  4 Destroyers
  12
  0704
  Nosea
  2 light
  4 Destroyers
  8
  0707
  Spume
  None
  2 Frigates
  8
  0802
  Cunnonic
  2 light
  4 Destroyers, 2 Frigates
  16 
  The Confederation Navy is based around a core fleet of 24 
  TL16 cruisers of various types, 12 additional TL15 cruisers, 
  double that number of modern TL15 destroyers and a number 
  of auxiliaries, generally obsolete vessels refitted as tenders, 
  specialised SDB transporters and assault landing craft. These 
  squadrons are mainly used to picket the Sword World and 
  Zhodani borders and provide a strategic reserve in case of 
  invasion. 
  The advanced cruisers were recovered in 390 from a naval 
  cache, dating from before the Maghiz. The ships boast some 
  prototype TL 17 weaponry and defences but are irreplaceable. 
  So they are rarely committed to battle unless the Darrians can 
  muster overwhelming force to ensure their survival. They form 
  three separate squadrons, which are posted at several covert 
  locations between stars, one near the Querion subsector, one 
  near the Sword Worlds and the last held in reserve at an ultra 
  secret TL16 naval base, to prevent surprise attack or attempted 
  espionage.
  Due to the necessity to protect the priceless capital ships, the 
  main elements of the Confederation fleet on picket duty are the 
  Imperial constructed cruisers, supported by colonial escorts. 
  These reserves frequently travel between member worlds to 
  perform war games or collect ships assigned to their patrol 
  squadrons, providing crews with valuable tactical experience 
  and sustaining inter-fleet cohesion.
  Naval Tactics
  Darrian naval doctrine does not embrace the use of small fighter 
  craft, believing that missiles are more stealthy, manoeuvrable 
  and capable of being carried in far greater numbers. With its 
  edge in sensor technology granting it superior ECM capabilities, 
  the Confederation encourages the colonial squadrons to invest 
  in missile armed SDBs and covert missile pods to fill the gap.
  The Darrian Marines are treated as a subdivision of the navy 
  and not considered an independent military arm in its own 
  right. They are used exclusively as ship boarding or counter-
  boarding troops, never for orbital assault, which is the province 
  of specially trained units of the Confederation Guard.
  
  44
  Guard Organisation
  The Confederation Guard are a small cadre of highly trained 
  brigades, which specialise in high tech weaponry. They are 
  mainly composed of mobile infantry or armour battalions 
  designed to support local planetary militias and jump troop 
  battalions designed for planetary assault. All of their equipment 
  is TL14 and TL15 although rumours abound of a Special Forces 
  brigade armed with TL16 weaponry. A disproportionate number 
  of battalions in the Confederation Guard are formed from Aslan 
  troops. There are no mixed species units due to the specialised 
  equipment that each race requires but the two species work 
  well alongside each other with little intra-species tension.
  Since the Confederation is rarely engaged in direct warfare, the 
  normal function of these troops is to provide training for militia 
  forces or perform garrison duty on the few balkanised worlds 
  of the Confederation. However, the recent annexation of the 
  Entropic Worlds has caused the Guard units to enter a higher 
  state of training. 
  Each member world also provides its own militia brigades, 
  mainly formed of light resistance units working in concert with 
  a small core of standard infantry, air force and armour. Every 
  citizen, on graduating from university, is expected to serve a 
  term either in the military or continue post grad studies, resulting 
  in about 40% of the adult population possessing basic military 
  skills. Whilst most resistance units are no match for professional 
  infantry in direct combat, an entire planetary population trained 
  in guerrilla tactics poses significant problems to a potential 
  invader, who would be faced with the necessity of committing 
  genocide or sterilisation to gain complete control of the territory.
  Guard Tactics
  Burnt earth policy is core to overall strategy, destroying key choke 
  points in the water, energy and transport infrastructure. These 
  points have been deliberately positioned in places that form 
  natural killing zones. Each world government is responsible for 
  building deep earth command posts, hidden ordinance dumps 
  and food caches to supply long term resistance movement or 
  places to survive planetary bombardment scourges.
  The Guard’s heavy infantry train in hit and run tactics, preferring 
  to perform lightning strikes or rolling retreats but never remaining 
  in a fixed position. The lighter militia units use similar tactics but 
  concentrate on ambushes, guerrilla fighting and civic sabotage. 
  Darrian resistance units cross train with low tech weapons and 
  methods, allowing them to operate with little chance of detection 
  by a technologically reliant invader. 
  Working together the Guard and Militia complement each other; 
  the Confederation troops retreating through militia ambushes, 
  or vice versa, the militia deliberately triggering an over strength 
  response, which is hit by prepared artillery or armour strike. 
  The refusal to dig in and hold territory has proven to be a great 
  irritation to Sword Worlders during their most recent hard fought 
  conquest of the Entropic Worlds. 
  Although the Darrians were defeated, the invaders lost a 
  disproportionate number of personnel and munitions, primarily 
  through playing upon the Sword Worlder’s machismo based 
  need to close into close combat, carefully orchestrated by Darrian 
  Psych Warfare officers. Even today, 21 years later, the Darrians 
  still maintain a highly active resistance movement, intermittently 
  contacted by covert meson communication. The ongoing 
  sabotage and terrorism campaign has severely undermined 
  Sword Worlder morale, causing the native populace to suffer 
  severe reprisals that have done nothing except strengthen 
  the resolve of the stoic Darrians but turning the planets into 
  bottomless credit and manpower pits. A situation encouraged 
  by the Ministry of Defence since it diverts resources whilst the 
  Confederation plans its counter strike.
  Darrian jump troops intensively train with Imperial Marines 
  and are fully conversant with conventional planetary assault 
  techniques. Rumours suggest that the Confederation has 
  several brigades of Marines seconded from the Imperium, 
  stationed at the naval base on Nosea.
  Special Arm Organisation
  This branch of the military has expanded beyond its original 
  remit of commanding the Star Trigger weapon. It has now taken 
  over several key responsibilities, including security for other 
  highly classified research and provides a counter espionage 
  agency, performing all the sensitive tasks inappropriate for the 
  Confederation Guard. Their relatively small number of personnel 
  includes elite Special Forces units which are occasionally 
  deployed on black ops missions outside of Darrian space. 
  As part of their primary duty of manning the Star Trigger 
  strategic defence, the Special Arm controls a small number of 
  non-military TL16 ships on which the devices are installed. For 
  more information, see Secrets of the Special Arm, page XX.
  language
  As part of its natural tendency towards unification, the 
  Confederation has standardised a common language. Prior to 
  the disastrous Maghiz, the Darrians had five separate languages 
  in concurrent use, one from each basin of their homeworld. 
  Only one (te-zlodh) was specifically used for colonisation 
  protocols, since it had reached ascendancy as the language 
  that best conveyed scientific and technological concepts. In an 
  ironic stroke of fate, the majority of Maghiz survivors on Daryen 
  were in undersea cities in the Zlodh basin and primarily spoke 
  te-zlodh.
  Nowadays te-zlodh is often known as te-zapet, which translates 
  as ‘the home language’.
  
  45
  Whilst te-zlodh is spoken and understood on all the Confederation 
  worlds, it has slowly evolved specific vocabularies and dialects. 
  It is generally possible to identify the planet a Darrian originates 
  from, and sometimes even the region, just from their accent or 
  colloquialisms. Since many of the technical terminologies and 
  slang are unique, identifying the profession of the speaker is 
  potentially feasible.
  After the arrival of the Solomani, te-zlodh assimilated a huge 
  number of words from the Anglic tongue. A large portion of 
  these were science based but all sorts of odd phrases and 
  concepts have muddied the language. Modern Solomani can 
  often understand the occasional word in an overheard Darrian 
  conversation. To encourage social tolerance, the majority of 
  Darrians learn Galanglic and Aslan as secondary languages at 
  school. The older Darrian basin languages are usually reserved 
  for those specialising as linguists or historians.
  The Aslan citizens of the Confederation cling to their own 
  language amongst themselves but have increasingly turned to 
  learning te-zapet in order to communicate clearly with Darrians, 
  since the human palette cannot form the excruciating sounds 
  of the Aslan patois. This reluctantly adopted linguistic flexibility 
  helps greatly during trading or military manoeuvres, when the 
  use of translators can be a hindrance.
  Grammar
  Te-zlodh, or te-zapet as it is also known, was specially crafted 
  by the scientific priesthood of Zlodh. It has very simple rules 
  governing its grammar, which enabled it to rapidly supplant the 
  competing languages of the other basins. The meaning of a 
  Darrian word in based upon the root of its consonants, sans 
  its vowels. The vowel pattern defines whether it is a noun or a 
  verb and the associated tense. The Darrian word for a dream 
  for instance is Ramim. The core consonant cluster for the root 
  word is R-M-M.
  The language only requires simple prefixes and suffixes to 
  define an article, adjective or adverb. Te-zlodh translates as 
  ‘The Zlodh language’ for example.
  darrian syntax
  Article
  Prefix
  Suffix
  Indefinite (a)
  None
  None
  Definite (the)
  te-
  Plural
  -en
  Adjective (-ale, -ous, -er, -est)
  -e
  Adverb (-ly)
  -e
  Darrian verbs are split into two sets by their conjugations. 
  80% of all verbs possess more than one vowel and 
  fall into group A, the remainder are in grouping B. The 
  following table indicates how each group is conjugated. 
  An asterisk indicates the position of a consonant. 
  darrian Conjugations
  Tense
  Group A
  Group B
  Infinitive
  *a*e*
  *a*
  Past
  *o*i*
  *o*
  Present
  *u*i*
  *u*
  Future
  *i*e*
  *i*
  For example. ramem means ‘to dream’,  romim means 
  ‘dreamt’, rumim means ‘dream’ and rimem means ‘will dream’.
  Te-zlodh also contains a new grammatical class known 
  as Particles. These are single syllable words placed at 
  the start of a clause, which define its meaning. These 
  commonly replace the use of pronouns or punctuation.
  darrian partiCles
  Particle
  Meaning
  Example
  Nos
  Question
  Nos ni rumin – Do I dream?
  Ze
  Desire
  Ze ni rumin – I wish to dream.
  Kon
  Amplification
  Kon ni rumin – I dream vividly.
  Me’t
  Iteration
  Me’t ni rumin – I often dream.
  Kas
  Uncertainty
  Kas ni rumin – I’m unsure if I 
  dream.
  Tik
  Possibility
  Tik ni rumin – I may dream.
  Generating Darrian Words
  Whilst it is unnecessary to use Darrian language in ongoing game 
  play, using alien sounding words can help create the unusual and 
  foreign atmosphere of their society. To aid Referees in fleshing out 
  the names of Darrian characters, organisations and equipment, a 
  sophisticated word generation system has been included. 
  The frequency of Darrian sounds and syllables is defined 
  on the Consonant and Vowel tables. These can be used for 
  Referees who wish to write their own programs to randomly 
  generate Darrian words. If using dice, skip directly to the Word 
  Generating Tables after.
  Word length and syllable structure is based upon an alternation 
  of vowels (V) and consonants (C). Use the following tables to 
  determine how many syllables are in the word and the composition 
  of each. Then join the syllables together to form the final word.
  
  46
  nuMBer of syllaBles
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  2
  1
  1
  1
  2
  2
  2
  3
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  2
  4
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  5
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  6
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  3
  syllaBle struCture
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  v
  v
  v
  v
  v
  v
  2
  v
  v
  v
  vc
  vc
  vc
  3
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  4
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  5
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  6
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  vc
  initial Consonants 
  Sound
  Freq
  Pronunciation
  B
  17
  bat
  D
  22
  dog
  G
  7
  gate
  P
  12
  pin
  T
  8
  time
  TH
  7
  this
  K
  5
  kind
  M
  10
  mind
  N
  22
  nice
  Z
  22
  zoo
  L
  10
  long
  R
  14
  run
  Y
  6
  yellow
  ZB
  4
  z+b*
  ZD
  5
  mazda
  ZG
  3
  z+g*
  ZL
  3
  z+l*
  MB
  5
  tomboy
  ND
  5
  band
  NGG
  3
  finger
  RY
  5
  very
  LY
  3
  quickly
  NY
  6
  many
  LZ
  5
  bells
  LD
  7
  held
  *The two letters are pronounced separately, but very 
  close together.
  voWels 
  Sound
  Freq
  Pronunciation
  A
  48
  lake
  E
  46
  greet
  EH
  29
  get
  I
  29
  lite
  IH
  23
  lit
  O
  29
  go
  U
  12
  loop
  final Consonants 
  Sound
  Freq
  Pronunciation
  BH
  9
  abhor
  DH
  9
  that
  GH
  6
  soft gargling
  P
  6
  top
  T
  6
  pot
  K
  9
  lock
  N
  29
  can
  NG
  12
  ring
  L
  23
  hill
  R
  29
  bar
  S
  18
  mess
  M
  15
  tom
  MB
  6
  tomboy
  ND
  6
  bond
  NGG
  3
  finger
  YR
  6
  fire
  LY
  3
  only
  NY
  3
  any
  LBH
  3
  l+bh*
  LZ
  6
  ills
  LD
  9
  could
  *The two letters are pronounced separately but very 
  close together.
  Dice based syllable generation
  Use the following tables to randomly generate consonants and 
  vowels. First roll a dice to see which of the six tables to use for 
  that element of the syllable, then a second dice to determine the 
  column and a final dice for row.
  Darrian Script
  Technically there are five original Darrian scripts, one for each of 
  the basins that had independently developed its writing system 
  to complement its language. The eventual supremacy of the 
  Zlodh priesthood subsumed the peoples of the other basins, 
  forcing them to adopt the script used by the scholar priests, 
  
  47
  initial Consonant
  voWel
  final Consonant
  1
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  b
  b
  b
  b
  b
  b
  1
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  1
  bh
  bh
  bh
  bh
  bh
  bh
  2
  b
  b
  b
  b
  b
  b
  2
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  2
  bh
  bh
  bh
  dh
  dh
  dh
  3
  b
  b
  b
  b
  b
  d
  3
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  3
  dh
  dh
  dh
  dh
  dh
  dh
  4
  d
  d
  d
  d
  d
  d
  4
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  4
  gh
  gh
  gh
  gh
  gh
  gh
  5
  d
  d
  d
  d
  d
  d
  5
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  5
  p
  p
  p
  p
  p
  p
  6
  d
  d
  d
  d
  d
  d
  6
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  6
  t
  t
  t
  t
  t
  t
  2
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  2
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  2
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  d
  d
  d
  g
  g
  g
  1
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  1
  k
  k
  k
  k
  k
  k
  2
  g
  g
  g
  g
  p
  p
  2
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  2
  k
  k
  k
  n
  n
  n
  3
  p
  p
  p
  p
  p
  p
  3
  e
  e
  e
  e
  e
  e
  3
  n
  n
  n
  n
  n
  n
  4
  p
  p
  p
  p
  t
  t
  4
  e
  e
  e
  e
  e
  e
  4
  n
  n
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  48
  although still retaining their own speech. The system uses a 
  syllabary; symbols representing syllables, much like shorthand 
  script, but the glyphs look more like jagged squiggles than the 
  straight line or image based hieroglyphs of early Alsan cultures. 
  The simpler, flowing symbols are faster to scribe assuming that 
  they do not have to be carved. This is called yaser te-yulep 
  (the old script). 
  When the Solomani arrived and made their presence known, a 
  new Latin based alphabet called rome te-yulep (‘the Roman 
  script’) was introduced to ease the linguistic difficulties faced by 
  the settlers. Although the Latin alphabet grew in importance due 
  to its ability to represent phonetic sounds of Solomani technical 
  jargon unknown in te-zlodh, it did not replace the old script 
  completely. Currently yaser te-yulep remains in use for legal 
  documentation, classic literature, poetry and news faxes, where 
  the speed and efficiency of the syllabary allow rapid reading. 
  Scientific and educational documentation remain written in 
  rome te-yulep. On the world of Rorre, whose population 
  adhere to a pre-Solomani way of life, the Latin alphabet is 
  constitutionally forbidden.
  aslan in the Confederation
  The second most common species is the Confederacy, Aslan are 
  a welcome addition to Darrian space. Their timely intercession 
  prior to the First Frontier War swelled the Confederation ranks 
  and even valiantly travelled deep behind enemy lines to host 
  a raiding campaign. In exchange for this service, the Darrians 
  gave the Aslan the most valuable gift possible – land on 
  established colony worlds.
  Over the last five centuries most of the Aslan settlements 
  have slowly been integrated into mainstream Darrian society, 
  adopting greater levels of tolerance, monogamy, learning te-
  zlodh and even embracing the concepts of lifelong study. To 
  members of the Hierate, the Darrian inhatei have become true 
  barbarians. Only the Aslan of Roget have striven to preserve 
  the traditional ways of duelling and honour. Which is fortunate 
  for the Confederation, as these are the source of the majority of 
  their Guard units and Special Forces.
  Despite their continued cultural segregation, the Aslan of Roget 
  still maintain an excellent relationship with the Confederation 
  in recognition of the great gift granted to them. Roget Aslan 
  characters gain a +3 bonus to reaction rolls when meeting with 
  Darrian citizens. Aslan from the other Confederation worlds 
  are so fully integrated into Darrian society that they no longer 
  need to make reaction rolls at all. However they are always 
  considered ‘barbarians’, pathetic social inferiors by other Alsan 
  outside the Confederation and granted no respect at all. 
  huManiti in the Confederation
  There are few ‘standard’ human citizens in the Confederation, as 
  all of the original Solomani have long since been subsumed into 
  the Darrian racial profile. Most of Humaniti who visit the Darrian 
  subsector are either tourists travelling to see the exotic art and 
  still functional TL16 wonders existent on the major worlds, or 
  scholars wishing to advance their studies by accessing Darrian 
  libraries and universities. 
  The Confederation is such a haven for research that many 
  professional scientists apply for emigration. Darrian policy 
  however is reluctant to welcome destabilising personalities 
  or Imperium citizens with questionable records. Thus any 
  application is carefully tested for cultural compatibility and 
  academic achievement, before a request is sent to Imperial 
  Security for thorough background checks. Those who pass 
  these long-winded examinations are warmly welcomed as 
  new citizens.
  A small number of other humans are granted long term residence 
  visas, usually employees of non-Darrian Corporations who 
  have offices on Confederation worlds, interstellar journalists 
  or foreign embassy staff. A few Byronic artists are allowed to 
  wander where they will. Those foreigners suspected as acting 
  as spies or agents are submitted to light observation and 
  tracking but no effort is made to stop them from making regular 
  reports back to their government or patron organisation.
  
  49
  darrian history
  The Darrians have a remarkable history, full of incredible 
  progression and tragic falls. Transplanted to a new world and 
  lacking any natural predation, they dominated it, growing into 
  a thriving culture. Their natural development was interrupted 
  by the arrival of refugee Solomani, whose technical ability kick-
  started the Darrians own scientific ascent, allowing them to 
  rise to the highest technological level achieved by any human 
  society and begin to settle other worlds. This brief pinnacle 
  foreshadowed the terrible disaster of the Maghiz, a stellar 
  cataclysm created by their hubris.
  Surviving the holocaust was a heroic effort suffered on all of 
  the Darrian colony worlds, slowly clawing their way back to a 
  space faring civilisation. It took over six centuries to regain lost 
  ground but eventually refurbished ships were sent between the 
  colonies, reuniting those planets where settlers had survived 
  and trying to discover what had happened to those who had 
  not. During their search the Darrians discovered they were no 
  longer alone in their sector of space but had been hemmed in 
  on all sides by expanding empires. Finally forming an alliance 
  with the Imperium, the Darrians have survived the instability of 
  the Spinward Marches as a small polity, treading a careful line 
  of diplomacy and using their advanced technological knowledge 
  as a deterrent.
  This chapter gives an in depth view of the rise, fall and eventual 
  re-emergence of the Darrians; studying each phase of their 
  development as a people, then a Confederation.
  darrian origins
  Three hundred thousand years ago, when Humaniti was but 
  an untapped resource, the Sol system was discovered by the 
  Ancients, a mysterious race with incomprehensibly advanced 
  technology. They saw great potential in the vibrant life on the 
  third planet and co-opted many of its species for a series of 
  parallel multi-generational experiments. Samples were taken 
  and transported to widely scattered worlds, where they were 
  tinkered with at the genetic level and allowed to develop with 
  minimal interference, observing biological, sociological and 
  technological progress.
  The ultimate purpose of these studies remains unknown. Any 
  chance to discover their motivations were lost when the Ancients 
  destroyed themselves in an apocalyptic war, exterminating 
  the entirety of their race. Transplanted specimens whose 
  worlds were not destroyed in the conflict, were abandoned on 
  isolated planets. Left to endure on their own merits, countless 
  experimental test studies died out without the philanthropic 
  guidance of their observers. A few however managed to survive, 
  the human experiments proving more resilient and adaptable 
  than many of the other species.
  A still primitive, yet sapient form of homo sapiens, the Darrians 
  had been taken from Terra by an Ancient dimly remembered 
  as the god Onsorik. Acting to some unknown plan the Ancient 
  massively terraformed a planet for their settlement and tailored 
  an entire ecosystem to provide support and comfort. Few 
  dangers existed on Daryen, hardly any large predators, clement 
  atmospheric weather and no significant pathogens. In a literal 
  Garden of Eden the Darrians praised Onsorik as a father, 
  continuing to venerate him millennia after he vanished from the 
  world.
  the orChards
  The world of Daryen was heavily terraformed by unimaginable 
  forces, into five vast basins segregated from one another by 
  high, broad mountain ranges averaging at least ten kilometres 
  in height and reaching up to twice that. Each basin possessed a 
  central sea, fed by rivers draining the runoff from the mountains. 
  Due to the lighter gravity, the atmosphere thinned rapidly in the 
  mountains, forming a natural barrier to Darrian migration.
  Onsorik designed five initial communities based around 
  artificially formed Flame Pits, open rifts in the landscape up to 
  several kilometres across. These were full of dully glowing rocks 
  heated by the escape of burning gases and rising geothermal 
  energy, supplied by subterranean volcanic vents. These were 
  possibly structural damage left over from tinkering with the 
  planetary tectonics but provided the perfect centrepiece around 
  which to base his new experimental subjects. 
  The Ancient then created an ecosystem, perhaps from the 
  remnants of an existent ecology already present on the planet. 
  All vegetation was specifically tailored to nurture human life. 
  Certain herbs and roots specifically designed to grant medicinal 
  properties and various types of bamboo-like grass provided 
  shafts for weapons or tools, or when chewed provided fibres 
  that could be spun into a type of wool. Some flowers and barks 
  were edible in themselves, providing new spices or sources of 
  colourful dyes. 
  The apex of these botanical modifications was the ‘Father 
  Tree’, a 20 metre high plant with a concave, semi-circular trunk 
  that gradually leant over in the direction of prevailing winds as 
  
  50
  it grew. The odd semi-tubular shape naturally enclosed an area 
  of about five square metres, granting shelter unless the weather 
  perversely blew in from the open side. During warmer seasons, 
  fruit sprouted within the area protected by the trunk, eventually 
  desiccating but remaining edible if left on the vine. Frequent 
  picking stimulated further fruition, enough to support up to four 
  adults if carefully tended. 
  On the outside of the tree, broad fronds spread to capture 
  sunlight and channel rain to runners in the bark. These collected 
  the water in underground bladders and the groves could easily 
  be tapped to provide an accessible source of drinking water. 
  Openings in the root bowl similar to the reservoir bladders 
  were places to deposit faecal waste, which the tree utilised for 
  fertiliser. The tree’s fronds replenished themselves annually, 
  providing a ready supply of fibrous material, which was used by 
  early Darrians to weave ropes and crude fabric. From this they 
  formed hammocks in which to sleep and simple screens to give 
  additional protection from sun and wind. 
  With its wide range of practical uses the Father Tree was the 
  source of all life and comfort, becoming the key to the evolving 
  Darrian civilisation. However, these orchards, as they became 
  known, only extended for about 10 kilometres from each flame 
  pit, their ecology somehow tied into the geothermal emanations. 
  The plantations however, numbered about 250,000 trees, 
  enabling a potential population of up to a million Darrians 
  around each flame pit, although the earliest surviving myths and 
  archaeological excavations suggest few of the communities 
  ever sustained that size.
  The five settlements named Boyr, Zlodh, Nyadh, Rimb and 
  Abh, were flourishing prior to the Ancients War. Onsorik fled 
  Daryen either to escape the battles, or as the Darrians prefer 
  to think, in order to save them and their world. Indeed, the lack 
  of any civilised infrastructure meant that the planet escaped 
  sterilisation or annihilation, appearing to be a primitive world 
  uninhabited by sapient species. The father’s ultimate fate 
  remains unknown. His disappearance leading to thousands of 
  years of tranquil peace, freed from experimentation.
  early developMent
  Despite an initially nomadic lifestyle within their idyllic 
  surroundings, being tied to the orchards stimulated a number of 
  developments. Using hollow bamboos as siphons was a rapid 
  development in order to access water held in underground 
  bladders. This led to the development of guttering to intercept 
  water collected by the foliage of the Father Trees and pottery 
  vessels in which to store it.
  Although capable of sustaining life, a constant diet of Father 
  Tree fruit rapidly became bland. Hunting the local wildlife, some 
  of it imported from Terra, provided a change of diet, better 
  protein intake and a form of entertainment. Within a couple 
  of generations however, local game had been driven from the 
  orchards forcing hunts to range great distances away from the 
  fire pits. To journey from the protection of the Father Trees 
  required the transportation of water, not easily found except 
  in rivers. This resulted in the development of smaller pottery 
  bottles, which could be sealed to prevent spillages. 
  Cooking, a practice soon adopted living so close to a free 
  source of heat, was impossible living away from the flame pits 
  without carrying embers to start new fires. A side effect of flint 
  knapping to create tools eventually led to the rediscovery of fire 
  starting, using different types of stones to strike sparks. With 
  the ability create fire; the full extent of the orchards was open 
  to settlement.
  The lack of significant numbers of animal hides in comparison 
  with the accelerating population growth, forced the development 
  of weaving cloth for protective clothing and bedding. 
  Despite these basic achievements, life for the average Darrian 
  was indolent. Rather than developing technologically, they 
  instead experienced rapid advancement socially. Left with plenty 
  of free time to think, they began to consider their philosophical 
  situation, developing abstract cultural concepts and plenty of 
  group entertainments centred on song, dance, sports and sex.
  Eventually Darrians reached the maximum resource limit that the 
  orchards could support. Population density became so high that 
  social regulation began weeding out those genetic factors that 
  did not fit in with dense communities. Troublemakers, neurotics, 
  psychotics and others whose activities were aggravated by 
  close, continuing proximity to others, were eliminated from 
  the populace. Infanticide was adopted to control population, 
  child mortality being low due to the initial absence of serious 
  diseases and lack of malnutrition. Even the elderly were not 
  spared once their ability to support themselves was lost. Life 
  within the Garden of Eden began to take on a brutal, pragmatic 
  edge.
  forCed expansion
  Between 80,000 and 100,000 years after the Ancient’s War, 
  the flame pits began to stutter.  Flammable gases became 
  intermittent, often belching foul smelling ashes and smoke 
  instead. Below the surface the volcanic tubes slowly cooled and 
  solidified. The lack of geothermal heat affected the lifecycle of 
  the Father Trees, which began dying out. Although the Darrians 
  knew how to make fire, the gradual death of the trees created 
  terrible population pressure, forcing many families to trek off 
  into the wilderness in search of other orchards. None could be 
  found but with their native practicality and basic handicrafts, 
  
  51
  the Darrians adapted to the new environment, learning painful 
  lessons in creating shelter and preserving foods through the 
  seasons.
  Ultimately the pits at Boyr and Nyadh burned out completely. 
  The Rimb orchard suffered a terrible plague, the human 
  bacterium brought to the world eventually evolving into a deadly 
  pathogen in the overcrowded settlement. Knowledge and 
  society fractured. The hitherto sedentary Darrian civilisation 
  abandoned the orchards, scattering across the basins.
  Over the next 100,000 years the Darrians cycled through 
  periods of hunter-gathering, nomadic animal herding and 
  arable cultivation. Populations in each basin swelled and 
  died as Darrians caused the stress and collapse of their local 
  ecosystems or suffered newly evolving diseases. However, the 
  continuously evolving Darrian intelligence learned from each 
  setback, permitting each recovery to be achieved at a quicker 
  pace.
  About 200,000 years after being removed from Terra, the 
  Darrians finally developed the concepts of boats and permanent 
  houses; and began settling the rivers and sea coasts. Water 
  transport created trade between settlements, re-establishing a 
  degree of cultural communication unseen since the days of the 
  orchards. Civilisation had returned.
  the rise of the Basins
  With the rise of permanent urbanisation supported by animal 
  husbandry and rotational crop farming, population levels began 
  to grow in a sustainable manner. Extensive settlement of 
  available lands encouraged exploration into the more hostile 
  mountainous regions which rose steeply above the artificial 
  basins. Pioneers began to settle in the higher foothills but could 
  push no further due to the thinning atmosphere making life at 
  higher altitudes uncomfortable. 
  A myriad of years passed with Darrians slowly extending their 
  slow penetration of the broad mountain ranges, till about the 
  year –20,000 the peoples of the Southern Polar Abh Basin 
  discovered high altitude routes through the frozen peaks into the 
  neighbouring equatorial Nyadh, Rimb and Boyr Basins. What 
  they discovered were three independent cultures developed in 
  isolation, each radically different from one another with unique 
  languages, customs and traditions.
  Initial contacts were peaceful affairs, albeit fraught with fear and 
  misunderstandings. These friendly embassies were eventually 
  supplanted by colonial attempts or military expansion. The 
  original exploration missions devolved into raids begetting 
  attacks of reprisal. An age of discovery descended into pointless 
  wars. New paths across the mountains were sought, not for 
  trade but as new routes to launch invasions.
  Hostilities lasted for thousands of years, rising and falling with 
  the petty kingdoms that fuelled them. However, more than 
  soldiers crossed the passes. Traders, scholars and philosophers 
  crossed during the intermittent, short periods of peace.
  Previously in the Boyr Basin circa –23,000, the philosopher-
  king Derir Lipit first formally stated the philosophical premise 
  that has shaped Darrian thought ever since: ‘Every living thing 
  has a right to live according to its own nature’. In the Nyadh 
  Basin 1,000 years later, the hermit-philosopher Yikan Yikan 
  had declared the basic commandment: ‘All living things must 
  be allowed to live their lives’. The interpretation in Nyadh was 
  an extreme one. Strict followers refused to cut short the life 
  of anything. They gathered the fruits of plants, burned only 
  dead wood and wore only plant fibres or sheared wool. The 
  interpretation in Boyr was more flexible.
  Although Darrians were at the top of the food chain, the needed 
  to kill to eat, an accepted fact of life, philosophy dictated that 
  all creatures, even animals, be treated humanely.  Values 
  advanced and various philosophies evolved. Eventually the 
  Rimb law-giver Notan Taledh distilled and combined the two 
  ideas into one:
  ‘Animals live by predation but men, because of their 
  intelligence, live by production. Thus, a man who lives as 
  a predator is living as an animal and not fulfilling his true 
  nature as a man. Men may use the lower animals for labour 
  or for food but cruelty to them is not allowable. No man 
  may prey upon another man.’
  Thus the great Taledh taught that rationality is the true nature 
  of man. Animal instincts and raw emotion are a lower, vestigial 
  part of him, which must not be allowed to gain control. Darrians 
  society is based upon this school of thought, tending to be 
  even-tempered, lucid and difficult to alarm. They are not, 
  however, self repressive, freely exhibiting emotions as long as 
  their expression does not cause offense or harm. 
  Taledh the all-wise also promulgated the first great code of 
  Darrian laws, which in honour was named after him. The Taledh 
  Code was comprised of three parts: the definition of crimes, the 
  definition of punishments and moral guidance for determining 
  the fitting punishment for each crime. 
  darrian paCifisM
  Millennia after their founder passed on, the more 
  extreme Nyadh life-respecting school are still active, 
  both teaching and practicing a life of pacifism. Although 
  a minor philosophical sect, it is their continued 
  persistence and sending of missionaries into the 
  Spinward Marches that has falsely become associated 
  with Darrians and the Confederation in general.
  
  52
  In defining crimes, Taledh considered any action or inaction that 
  would or could hurt other living beings to be a crime. If it actually 
  caused harm, it was a real crime; if it could have caused harm 
  but did not, it was only an imaginary crime. Only real crimes 
  could be prosecuted with a punishment. Punishments were 
  guided by the nature of the crime in addition to the capability 
  of the criminal to bear justice. A wealthy criminal should pay 
  a larger fine than a poor criminal, or a strong physique should 
  suffer longer than a frail one.
  the zlodh eMpire
  The ice-bound Zlodh Basin, surrounding the northern polar 
  sea of Daryen, was the last to be opened by trans-mountain 
  migrations. The first tentative crossings took place in about 
  –16,000 but major interactions with the equatorial basins of 
  Nyadh, Rimb and Boyr, did not begin until nearly 1,000 years 
  later. 
  Although the centre of the polar Zlodh Sea was a frozen cap, 
  it was the largest ocean on the planet and the sea’s edges 
  remained ice-free year round. Due to its harsher climate, the 
  Darrians inhabiting Zlodh developed faster technologically, 
  in time inventing advanced sailing techniques to access their 
  primary food supplies which lay in the sea. Innovative boats 
  and crude navigation formed an extensive maritime trade; and 
  it was on the shores of the Zlodh Sea that the first great realm 
  of Daryen arose: the Zlodh Empire.
  the taledh Code
  The true wisdom of Taledh’s Code was the philosophical 
  understanding that society and its tolerances shift 
  over time. In light of this knowledge, he refrained from 
  codifying punishments to fit each crime. Instead he 
  expanded upon the concept that the perception of crime 
  changes with circumstances and the cultural opinion of 
  its severity. Every copy of the Taledh Code starts with 
  the three definitions on the first page. The remainder of 
  the book are Taledh’s own writings, expanding upon his 
  high minded ideals and how to apply them in practice.
  The earliest surviving texts are mainly comprised of 
  illustrative examples, each judging the same crime 
  in dozens of conflicting ways. They are ethically 
  convoluted and subject to multiple interpretations; but 
  act as lessons to demonstrate a judge’s responsibility 
  to look at any crime from all perspectives.
  To this day, the Code is still considered brilliant since 
  the sole central concept of ‘the punishment shall fit the 
  crime’ is unburdened by thousands of years of stratified 
  laws, precedents or revisions. It remains unaffected 
  by cultural development, the simplicity rendering it 
  eternally applicable.
  Procedurally, criminals must make restitution for their 
  crimes by making agreements or contracts promising 
  not to commit that crime again and they must undergo 
  a fitting punishment, which will reinforce the lesson that 
  must be learned. Death by execution is nowadays rarely 
  used as a punishment, save under circumstances where 
  imprisonment is impractical or considered a pointless 
  effort. Exile is a more common form of punishment, 
  rendering the criminal unable to benefit from any aspect 
  of society, which depending on the term of exile can 
  drive the criminal from Confederation space or even 
  result in a long, drawn out death sentence. An exile is 
  no longer considered a ‘member of society’ and may be 
  maltreated in whatever manner a Darrian deems fitting. 
  Up until 1084 dangerous criminals likely to cause 
  repeated harm were deposited on the prison world 
  of Torment. However, once the surrounding Entropic 
  Worlds were captured in the Fourth Frontier War, 
  maintaining the penal colony became strategically 
  unsound. Where possible, chronic sociopathic criminals 
  have their citizenship removed and are deported outside 
  of the Darrian Confederation, using naval vessels as 
  transports. Unrepentant psychopaths are pragmatically 
  terminated instead.
  
  53
  The Zlodh Empire was founded on a scientific priesthood. 
  Sea navigation using magnetic compasses, astronomic 
  observations and careful records, made it possible for merchant 
  voyages to travel far distances without getting lost. These 
  sea priests, originally charged with navigating ships across 
  the polar sea, grew in power and extended that authority to 
  the land. The priesthood never actually ruled the empire but 
  stood as the power behind the throne, its navigators absolutely 
  vital to maintaining the Empire’s trade. With the removal of 
  their approval, emperors fell to be replaced by those more 
  sympathetic to the priesthood’s aims.
  The priesthood treated science as a cult secret, forbidden to 
  those outside of its fraternity. The high priests always treated 
  science as real facts of the world rather than the works and 
  whims of the gods. With this rational approach and inquisitive 
  minds, they were able to discover the inner workings of many 
  aspects of the world, resulting in practical weather prediction, 
  higher mathematics and advanced naval architecture. 
  The scientific curiosity of the priesthood funded expeditions 
  from Zlodh to the other basins. Those expeditions not only 
  gathered new information for the Zhodh priests but they also 
  spread knowledge of Zlodh scientific accomplishments. Seeing 
  an opportunity to spread their influence, the priests sent 
  teachers to elucidate the inhabitants of the basins with lesser 
  pieces of knowledge, whilst gaining respect and standing. The 
  wandering priests proselytising gained thousands of followers 
  allowing the priesthood to manipulate social beliefs with the 
  ultimate purpose of unifying the world under the Zlodh Empire.
  Before their aims could be completed, the Zlodh priests 
  belatedly realised they had instigated a technological revolution. 
  Faithful adherents had taken the basic concepts taught to 
  them and developed a plethora of new concepts and ideas. 
  The empirical scientific approach and associated discoveries 
  spread like wildfire, undermining the centralised structure of the 
  Zlodh Empire, which gradually fractured into a number of less 
  authoritarian, petty kingdoms.
  By -10,000, compasses, writing, printing, elementary arch and 
  dome construction and mathematics were available to all. The 
  influence of the priesthood slowly ebbed, transforming them 
  into philosophical schools scattered throughout Daryen.
  The intense intellectual curiosity of the Darrians led to thousands 
  of years studying both their ecology and the heavens but, 
  because of the beneficent environment of their planet, no great 
  drive to conquer nature. Understanding was more important 
  than control, using their knowledge to predict the changing of 
  seasons for farming, or the best herbs for medicine. Whilst 
  botany, mathematics and astronomy were valuable practical 
  subjects, the social sciences such as ethics, sociology and 
  psychology continued to lead development.
  By -1511, Daryen had risen to a global tech level of 3. Theoretical 
  aspects of some of their sciences, however, reached as high as 
  tech level 8 or 9. The world was at peace and the Darrians’ 
  entire future was about to change.
  the CoMing of the soloMani
  Unknown to the Darrians on their peaceful world, there was a 
  continuing and dramatic upheaval taking place more than 100 
  parsecs away. The confrontation between the First Imperium 
  and the Terran Confederation ended in the collapse of the 
  empire and the creation of a successor state: the Rule of Man. 
  This Second Imperium, was not fated to succeed in stemming 
  the onset of the Long Night.
  The Rule of Man was established in -2204 and collapsed in 
  -1776. For the next 250 years, the anarchy and chaos of the 
  falling Long Night ruined trade and commerce, brought down 
  governments and raised up new ones. In this era it was natural 
  for some citizens to flee their present situation for the promise 
  of a new, previously untouched world.
  The Solomani merchant corporation ltzin, originally founded in 
  Turkey on Terra and later based on Dingir in the Solomani Rim, 
  saw the continuing collapse of interstellar trade and its owners 
  decided to emigrate en masse to a new world and hide from 
  the approaching conflict. A select list of employees and their 
  families was presented with an opportunity to leave with the 
  company. Preparations were made: a fleet of transport starships 
  was assembled; supplies, maps, charts and equipment were 
  crated and stored.
  In -1520, the ltzin Fleet of 35 transports and 10 armed escorts 
  set out from Dingir toward the Great Rift. Their journey was 
  an adventure in itself. The fleet travelled through Rule of Man 
  territory to Vland, depending on written letters of transit and free 
  passage when they were honoured and on the armed might of 
  its escorts when they were not. After calling at Vland in -1516 
  they ventured into the unknown, unsettled and unexplored 
  territory of Corridor, Deneb and the Spinward Marches. In 
  -1513, the fleet stopped temporarily at what is now Sacnoth 
  and from there mounted a fast survey of the sector. After finding 
  several potential world sites, the ltzin leaders selected Daryen 
  as their new home.
  The reasons for selecting Daryen were fairly obvious. Whilst 
  many worlds of the Spinward Marches had indigenous life 
  forms; significantly fewer (Daryen, Algine, Vanejen, a few 
  Zhodani worlds) had human populations. Of those, Daryen was 
  a perfect choice: an apparently stable minor human race that 
  might preserve the Solomani technology and manufacturing 
  capacity, if they could peacefully integrate with an influx of alien 
  settlers. 
  
  54
  The Solomani came clandestinely to Daryen. The world was 
  surveyed from above and then by scout teams on the surface. 
  A secret base was constructed in an inaccessible location of 
  the mountainous barrier where Rimb, Boyr and Abh met. Once 
  finished, the settlers transferred to the base and the ships were 
  hidden in orbit. After a full analysis of the world and its society, 
  the Solomani prepared to reveal their presence.
  In -1511, the people of the ltzin Fleet appeared in the Rimb 
  Basin. Realising that Darrian society was secular, their plan was 
  not to appear from the skies as gods but arrive as terrestrial 
  envoys on the ground. To most folk the Solomani were just 
  another group of migrating Darrians, although oddly short and 
  stocky. The difference was the technology that the arriving 
  Solomani carried with them, their knowledge and equipment 
  acting as a form of trade goods. The Solomani exchanged it 
  freely, making many friends and fortunes with it. 
  Using a combination of subtle dissimulation and honest 
  enthusiasm, the Darrians rapidly extracted whole new 
  technological concepts from their off-world guests, gaining a 
  broad base of (to them) novel scientific concepts. Once the 
  Solomani belatedly discovered how quickly the Darrians had 
  assimilated this new knowledge, the Itzin commanders decided 
  to enter an open partnership. The synergy between the fresh 
  Darrian culture and the strongly driven, more engineering-and-
  technology-oriented culture of the Solomani, was explosive. 
  It took only a short time for the Darrians to adopt wholesale 
  Solomani theories and engineering, exponentially accelerating 
  their tech level and industrial base.
  the darrian surge
  Soon after revealing their presence, the Solomani of the ltzin 
  Fleet decided to integrate fully into Darrian society. Rather 
  than remain aloof and separate, they merged themselves 
  into the mainstream of Darrian life, even forming interracial 
  marriages, which to everyone’s surprise proved to be fruitful, 
  although Darrian genetic traits proved dominant. Darrians were 
  hired to work for Solomani companies and once the native 
  manufacturing capacity began to operate, Solomani became 
  valued employees of Darrian companies.
  The social assimilation of the Solomani by the Darrians took 
  about 100 years. The total influx of Solomani arriving at Darrian 
  was no more than 30,000. Their knowledge, their expertise 
  and their experience were shared freely; benefits to Darrians 
  in general were benefits to Solomani as well. Darrians, having 
  mastered Solomani technology and theory, turned and applied 
  their own higher maths abilities to take them to their logical 
  conclusions and then began to make leaps beyond them.
  By -1400, the Solomani of the ltzin Fleet had been effectively 
  absorbed into the mainstream of Darrian society. All major 
  leadership positions were, by this time, filled by individuals born 
  on Daryen. Still hidden in the subsector and at the crest of a 
  new technological renascence, the original decision to mothball 
  the transport was rescinded.
  Working from the formerly secret base in the mountains, the 
  ltzin Fleet leadership arranged an expedition to the fleet in orbit 
  above Darrian. Immediately there was a problem. One 110 
  years of unmaintained storage in orbit had taken its tol, and 
  none of the ships were operable. Moreover, there was no longer 
  an accomplished cadre of trained starship operators. Plans for 
  simply using the existing store of ships proved unworkable. 
  Instead, the Darrians started over with an existing, proven 
  technology and theory, using examples from the fleet of now 
  nonworking starships in orbit. In the space of 10 years, they had 
  their first working design; within three decades they had a fleet 
  of scout vessels in operation.
  Initial Darrian exploration in the period -1395 to -1370, 
  concentrated on the worlds of the Darrian Group – Spume, 
  Mire, Condaria, Roget, Ilium, Rorre, Engrange, Ektron, Laberv, 
  and 494-908. Constrained by the jump-1 drives built for the 
  first series of explorers, Darrian star-farers stayed within a 
  few parsecs of their homeworld. By the end of this period the 
  next generation of starships, complete with jump-2 drives and 
  increased fuel reserves, were coming off the construction lines. 
  Certain select ships within this class were equipped with jump-3 
  drives for even greater range.
  By -1270 Darrian ships had explored the Spinward Marches to 
  a radius of about 20 parsecs. In this period the Marches had 
  not yet been settled, thus the region was uninhabited and open 
  to future colonisation. Initial survey exploration, gradually gave 
  way to in depth scientific investigations instead.
   
  the golden age
  Pure scientific research remained a passion for the Darrians. 
  Whilst exploration teams searched the nearby systems, Darrian 
  scientists were working on all aspects of physics: gravitics, 
  electronics, magnetism and radiation. Aided by an intuitive 
  grasp of higher mathematics, advances were phenomenal. 
  Their understanding of the universe grew by leaps and bounds. 
  Technology was also felt on Daryen. The very character of Darrian 
  life was changed by the increasing industrialisation of the world. 
  For about 100 years from -1400 to -1300, the quality of individual 
  life was adversely affected as industry grew, resulting in a strong 
  Darrian movement demanding respect for the individual worker.
  For a period of about 50 years, controversy continued as to 
  how much consideration a merchant or employer owed to his 
  workers. By -1250, society generally accepted the idea of a fair 
  wage, considerate working hours and a need to monitor the 
  impact of technology on society. 
  
  55
  The advance of Darrian civilisation from Tech Level 3 to Tech 
  level 10 and beyond was not without difficulties. Using prototype 
  technology involved potential complications and some serious 
  problems occurred. A nuclear power plant accident in the 
  Rimb Basin contaminated hundreds of square kilometres of 
  cropland; a second accident within weeks of the first resulted in 
  a devastating meltdown scenario, prompting rapid research into 
  radioactive clean up techniques. During this same period other 
  natural outgrowths of increasing technology were also felt on 
  Daryen: toxic waste contamination, unforeseen biological and 
  cultural side effects of drugs and chemicals and chemical driven 
  changes to the planetary weather systems. Many Darrians 
  eventually came to see that the advance of technology was not 
  necessarily a good thing.
  With the exploration of other worlds, the previously scattered 
  LoTech and Luddite organisations unified under the leadership 
  of Ghorge Rorre for the specific purpose of finding a new world 
  that would not be contaminated by technology. They studied 
  hundreds of scouting reports and decided on a world several 
  parsecs away. Formal requests were made to begin an off-
  world colony, a hitherto unconceived concept. With no imminent 
  plans to start its own colonies, the various basin governments 
  gave their consent, providing the prospective colonist organised 
  their own transport. Tens of thousands of Darrians pooled their 
  resources raising enough finances to manufacture several 
  large bulk cargo carriers. Loaded with colonists, the followers of 
  Rorre began their exodus and settled the new, world which they 
  named in his honour. 
  The new settlement created a charter that included specific long-
  term prohibitions against technology above level 3. Outside of 
  the starport, where higher technology was required to handle 
  shuttlecraft, the populace made a collective decision to stay as 
  an agriculturally based economy, emphasising the preservation 
  of the ecology and a long-term social stability, unaffected by the 
  changes that new technology brought. The carriers continued 
  to shuttle back and forth, bringing new colonists to Rorre and 
  returning with exotic new produce to help fund their simple 
  needs.
  The lessons of environmental damage were not lost on the 
  Darrians remaining on the  homeworld. New councils were formed 
  to prevent ecological catastrophe, resulting in the building of an 
  orbital infrastructure to remove dangerous manufacturing into 
  space and utilising the material resources of the solar system. 
  Lacking certain rare elements, fleets composed of bulk cargo 
  carriers, were loaded with cunningly designed mining or refining 
  equipment and transported to resource rich planets considered 
  uninhabitable by Darrians. For example, signs remain today of 
  the vast Darrian strip mine on Debarre; and the rusting ruins of 
  a gas refinery can still be found on Talchek in District 268.
  Colonial expansion
  Daryen reached the stars in a period when there was little 
  settlement of the worlds in the Spinward Marches. Although 
  they explored their sector to a radius of more than 20 parsecs, 
  there was little that one single world could do to exploit hundreds 
  of planets. After a relatively brief period of exploration, Daryen 
  concentrated further efforts to in-depth scientific analysis of 
  worlds closer to home. 
  Between –1250 and –1100 Daryen thoroughly investigated 
  the 11 worlds known as the Darrian Group, establishing a 
  number of residential research stations to study the ecological 
  or mineralogical resources of each world. Such installations 
  allowed examination of the psychological and physiological 
  effects of long term residence on these new planets, and on 
  a few with no extant biosphere, experimental terraforming 
  projects were set in motion.
  During this time the faltering colony of Rorre finally established 
  material independence from Daryen and the experiences 
  that the inhabitants had faithfully recorded for scientists were 
  used to create guidelines for significant colonisation attempts. 
  Hundreds of pioneers set out to begin constructing the 
  infrastructure required for eventually self-supporting colonies. 
  As each settlement neared completion further colonists followed 
  in transports filled with agricultural and other specialised 
  machinery. Within a few decades most of the occupied Darrian 
  worlds were capable of feeding themselves but all were still 
  dependant on Daryen to ship manufactured products. The 
  limited number of transports dedicated to colonial development 
  continued to shuttle back and forth, packed with ever more 
  devices and colonists.
  the darrian’s ultiMate disaster
  Darrian expeditions continued to visit and explore the hundreds 
  of worlds around them but the primary motivation was research. 
  In the 400 years since the coming of the Solomani, Daryen had 
  bootstrapped itself from Tech Level 3 to Tech Level 14; it was 
  a natural belief among Darrians that they could easily push 
  their Tech Level to 22 or 23 in the next 400 years. Everyone 
  understood that the way to increase Tech Level was through 
  research and research was a primary focus of Darrian society.
  In the ease of their advance, the Darrians become complacent, 
  even arrogant. Their rush to master new forces and growing 
  godlike capabilities led them to begin excitements across a 
  multitude of scientific disciplines, some of increasingly dubious 
  ethical nature. In addition to the normal hard sciences, Darrians 
  began to investigate antimatter production, bioengineering, 
  principles of matter transport, Artificial Intelligence and the 
  study of psionics. In about -1000 the now unified government 
  
  56
  of Daryen began a research project into the life cycle of Tarnis, 
  collecting sensor data on Daryen’s own rapidly spinning 
  sun. Expeditions to other systems in the Spinward Marches 
  had shown some anomalies between theory and actual 
  measurements of stellar energy output; causing scientists to 
  worry about possible instabilities that might exist within Tarnis. 
  In -950 and -944 two parallel projects were established to 
  define the internal mechanisms of Tarnis. The Abh Project 
  (the name is roughly translated as the Alpha Project) operated 
  from a base in the asteroid belt close to Tarnis; the Udh Project 
  (which translates as the Omega Project) was based at Zlodh 
  University. The two projects continued to develop separately. 
  The Abh Project concentrated on physically transporting 
  protected sensors deep into Tarnis’ interior in order to telemeter 
  data out; its scientists felt that large quantities of accurate data 
  would provide the answers that were needed. The Udh Project 
  was more theoretical in nature; its scientists used powerful 
  computers and newly discovered Meson technology to remotely 
  analyse the star to find patterns that would support one of a 
  variety of theories about stellar lifetimes.
  In -925 the Abh Project finished construction of its first star 
  probe, a device designed to survive in the heart of the sun itself 
  while recording data for study. The first generation star probe 
  survived for a total of eight minutes and reached a depth of 
  nearly 18,000 kilometres before its shields failed and it was 
  incinerated by Tarnis’ interior heat. In -924 the second star 
  probe, with improved shielding, was launched into Tarnis. It 
  reached an operating depth of 300,000 kilometres and began 
  sending out information at a prodigious rate. The flow of data 
  via transmitter delighted the project’s astrophysicists until that 
  same data indicated an increasing instability in the sun, centring 
  on the device. Before a decision to turn off the device could be 
  implemented, a subsurface fulmination occurred, causing the 
  star to start blowing immense sheets of stellar material from its 
  outer layer.
  The first effects of the titanic explosion were a series of gamma 
  ray bursts. Although minor when compared with a full blown 
  supernova, the power was terrifying at the local level. Travelling 
  at the speed of light, the radiation blastwave produced 
  devastating EMP effects, fusing all electronic components as it 
  spread out through the system. In space, every computerised 
  device failed and power lines shorted out in explosions, leaving 
  the crew of ships and stations to die of radiation sickness, alone 
  in the dark. Daryen fared no better. Gravitic vehicles lost power 
  and plummeted to the ground. Automated surface transport lost 
  function and either ground to a halt or raced on without control 
  until crashing or running out of fuel. Computers lost memory, 
  their sensitive processors forever melted into uselessness. 
  Atmospheric communication channels were disrupted but since 
  no devices remained operable to broadcast or receive, the 
  situation was mute.
  In a fraction of a second a TL16 society was reduced to the 
  Stone Age. But the worst was yet to come.
  A gargantuan wave front of expanding, incandescent gas burst 
  from Tarnis, travelling at a little under nine million kilometres 
  per hour, crossing the distance to Daryen in just under a day. 
  Unaware of the approaching doom and unable to protect 
  themselves anyway, the Darrians were struggling to cope with 
  the utter destruction of their infrastructure. 
  When it hit, the blast of superheated plasma struck like a 
  blowtorch, buckling the planet’s protective magnetic field. The 
  ionised particles sheeted through the atmosphere, already 
  weakened from gamma ray saturation, causing the whole sky 
  to simultaneously erupt with auroras and titanic lightning bolts. 
  Absorbing overwhelming quantities of energy, the upper layers 
  themselves exploded into plasma, irradiating everything on the 
  surface with doses of soft x-rays and unfiltered UV, blinding 
  those unfortunate enough to be outside. 
  Within moments surface temperatures rose between 50 to 
  100 degrees Celsius as the stratosphere struggled to radiate 
  away its heat. The atmosphere tore itself into violent storms as 
  vortices formed between the hot upper plasma and the cooler 
  lower air. Over the course of three days, cascading sheets 
  of stellar material continued to be ejected, striking the world 
  several times more. Everything, save for a fraction of the plant 
  species, died.
  The only remaining Darrians were those trapped in a few 
  subterranean installations and the handful of undersea cities in 
  the deepest parts of the Zlodh Ocean. The horrified survivors 
  called it the Maghiz, the te-zlodh word for Chaos.
  The sleeting mega-flares did not stop at Daryen. They continued 
  through the system devastating already functionless orbital 
  manufacturing plants, drifting spaceships and a few outlying 
  research posts. In a quirk of fate, the Abh Project station in the 
  asteroid belt was located within a vast nickel-iron planetoid, 
  heavily shielded to prevent stray signals from interfering with 
  its sensitive equipment. The base, but not its surface based 
  communications or shuttles, survived the initial electromagnetic 
  pulse; nevertheless the following hyper flare caught most of the 
  research team as they were attempting repairs on both. The 
  handful of survivors spent four years scrapping their remaining 
  instruments to jury-rig a single gig to take them back to the 
  nightmare that was Daryen.
  The gamma ray bursts from Tarnis continued travelling through 
  interstellar space, hitting each of the Darrian colony worlds in 
  turn. Even with forewarning of ‘Pulse Day’, it was an impossible 
  job to adequately shield every piece of electronic equipment from 
  the radiation wave; many colonies simply lacked the materials 
  or machinery with which to construct enough protective cages. 
  
  57
  As it arrived in each system all electronic devices were powered 
  down and earthed but many still fried. Eventually, after nearly 
  half a dozen parsecs, the wave front dissipated to harmlessness, 
  unable to generate any further EMP effects.
  night tiMe
  The colonies at the time of the Maghiz were still extremely 
  dependent upon Daryen as a source of supply, knowledge 
  and interstellar transport. Though possessing some degree 
  of manufacturing capability, capable of creating land vehicles 
  or heavy machinery, they lacked the ability to produce micro-
  circuitry, advanced pharmaceuticals or any number of advanced 
  tech that required a fully operational TL16 infrastructure to 
  produce. 
  Neither did the colonies maintain full databases of scientific 
  information, each world only possessing a small subset of 
  knowledge in the minds of their specialists and whatever 
  research material they had brought with them. The idea that 
  the homeworld could be destroyed had been, up to then, 
  inconceivable. No one had planned for such an eventuality.
  Over the following weeks, those transport fleets fortunate 
  enough to be out-system when the Maghiz occurred, jumped 
  back to Daryen and discovered the devastation. Sensor 
  officers scoured the world, by chance re-establishing meson 
  comms with the surviving Zlodh undersea cities but realised 
  they could provide no relief to the trapped citizens. The flash 
  heated surface of Daryen was now suffering violent storms and 
  torrential rainfall from gigatons of condensing water vapour. 
  With no processed hydrogen available to refuel them, the 
  transports’ own survival was in question until the arrival of a 
  vessel equipped with tenders capable of skimming fuel from the 
  system’s gas giants.
  Faced with the unpalatable situation that almost all of 
  Daryen’s scientific community was annihilated and no way to 
  descend safely through the storms, the transports exchanged 
  navigational databases and returned to their new homes.
  For about two decades following the Maghiz, Daryen and its 
  colonies tried to continue at the old levels of communication 
  and traded whatever surplus materials they had available. With 
  few ships on hand and most useful equipment being horded 
  against eventual failure, it soon became apparent that it was not 
  possible to continue as before. 
  In -905 all of the Darrian colonies agreed that each would have 
  to make its own way. The remaining fleet of ships was equably 
  divided up among the colonies; which either mothballed or 
  cannibalised them for materials. All contact between the worlds 
  ceased in -860. Between -860 and -275, the worlds of the 
  Darrian Group devoted their efforts to survival. Darrian stoicism 
  was born during the hardships of this long night.
  Overall Darrian technology reverted to pre-electronic levels. 
  Most of the old high-tech equipment wore out and was discarded 
  or stored in museums, where it remained, ready to be used to 
  rebuild each colony.
  reBuilding the Confederation
  By -275, the colony on Mire had recovered to Tech Level 10, 
  fully settling the world and exploiting its resources. A team of 
  researchers investigated the museum-piece starships they had 
  and realised that they had the technology and the industrial base 
  to build new ones. After constructing a few jump-1 explorers, 
  Mire re-established contact with the other Darrian colonies, 
  as well as with Daryen itself, still recovering ecologically and 
  began a new era of Darrian interstellar activity.
  The rebuilt Darrian Group was led by the world that began the re-
  contact project, Mire. Daryen, which had been understandably 
  overlooked in the immediate post-Maghiz recovery attempts, 
  responded slowly to the original contact and by the time it was 
  participating fully, the power structure was fully established with 
  Daryen relegated to the role of revered mother world but without 
  any real power. 
  the sWord Worlds
  One of the first things the Darrians discovered when they 
  returned to space was that they had neighbours. In -399 
  Solomani colonists had arrived in the neighbouring subsector 
  and settled on Gram, about 7 parsecs trailing the Darrian Group. 
  Perhaps fortunately for the Darrians, when the original settlers 
  of Gram arrived in the Spinward Marches, their cursory survey of 
  various adjacent systems initially failed to detect the throwback 
  civilisations. By the time the Darrians had been detected, the 
  Sword Worlders – driven by their desire to create their own 
  independent community – were fully occupied colonising their 
  own subsector, settling most of the uninhabited worlds by -200 
  and forming the Sacnoth Dominate in -186.
  the zhodani
  The Zhodani were present in the Spinward Marches long 
  before any other settlers. They established a toehold in Chronor 
  subsector around -2500 and that region became the trailing 
  border of the Zhodani Consulate. It was just chance that Darrian 
  surveys did not reach far enough to touch the Zhodani border 
  and no Zhodani expeditions touched Darrian space between 
  -1521 and -920. 
  
  58
  Zhodani expeditions beyond their own borders were frequent 
  during the next 2,000 years but they were concentrated in the 
  Gvurrdon, Provence and Corridor sectors. Some exploratory 
  trade expeditions travelled through the Spinward Marches and 
  it was one of those expeditions that first met the Darrians in 
  -187. Trade with the Zhodani was a lucrative activity. Darrians 
  were adept at analysing and reproducing prototypes; Zhodani 
  found it profitable to buy refined and processed goods rather 
  than undertake the refining and processing themselves.
  After two decades of trade between Zhodani and Darrians, the 
  Darrians made a chance discovery. The Zhodani had been 
  trading with the Sword Worlds for more than a century. It quickly 
  became apparent that the Zhodani had known of the devastated 
  Darrian worlds and that they had deliberately avoided them 
  during their period of throwback. Further, the evidence mounted 
  that Zhodani observation posts had been established to keep 
  an eye on Darrian worlds during this time.
  The Darrians took offense, questioning why the Zhodani had not 
  extended them humanitarian aid. After some analysis it became 
  clear that the Zhodani considered Darrians a threat, although 
  at first nobody was sure why. Further investigation showed that 
  no known culture, aside from the Ancients, had been able to 
  do what the Darrians had accomplished, the trigger of a stellar 
  flare.
  Darrian-Zhodani relations suffered a major setback; setting a 
  tone for the continuing distrust between the two powers that 
  continues to the present. 
  the third iMperiuM
  Scouts of the Third lmperium, pushing its explored borders 
  farther and farther out, eventually reached the Spinward 
  Marches, and in 53 Imperial Scouts made first contact with the 
  Sword Worlds. As part of their sweep through the sector the 
  scouts briefly visited Mire in 54, but no follow-up visit occurred 
  due to another interminable outbreak of civil strife in the Sword 
  World subsector.
  Imperial traders resumed contact with the Sword Worlds in 73 
  formulating new trade routes which briefly stabilised the region. 
  Darrian however, still caught up in rebuilding its own interstellar 
  community, was overlooked. It was not until 148 that Imperial 
  Scouts re-contacted the Sword Worlds, immediately afterward 
  establishing the first official diplomatic contact with the Darrian 
  Group. 
  The return of the Imperium marked a true change in the 
  character of the Spinward Marches. Before 148 the Marches 
  had just been a few scattered polities. After the arrival of the 
  Imperials, the development of the Marches began in earnest. 
  Imperial settlements were established throughout the region. 
  Contacts with the immense civilisation brought ready markets 
  for goods and resources. The Darrian Group, as an established 
  and stable community of industrialised planets, was in an ideal 
  position to support the Imperial cultivation of the Marches.
  A natural rivalry with the Sword Worlds began as both 
  communities of worlds competed for Imperial markets and 
  contracts. The Darrian Group, although smaller, was more 
  cohesive and manufactured better products than the Sword 
  Worlds. In addition, the Sword Worlds proved less politically 
  stable over time, prompting more preference for Darrian 
  markets when long-term contracts were called for.
  the frontier Wars
  The Darrian Confederation initially bound itself together out of 
  common racial and economic considerations but a major factor 
  was self-defence. The disproportionate size of the Confederation 
  compared with the mistrusted Zhodani Consulate, dictated 
  that Darrian’s could not defend against an enemy of such size 
  without external aid. To protect its independence, the Darrians 
  began to practice diplomacy.
  When the Maghiz occurred, the Darrian Confederation was 
  alone in a vast, untapped ocean of space. Many rich worlds lay 
  all around it: far too many for the Darrians to exploit at once. 
  When they regained space centuries later, the situation had 
  radically changed. Solomani refugees had colonised the world 
  clusters directly trailing the Darrian worlds; prime real estate 
  had been snatched from their hands. More than that, the Sword 
  Worlds proved to be aggressive traders, competent merchants 
  and effective industrialists.
  The Darrian Confederation and the Sword Worlds traded 
  uneasily and tentatively; their relationship never satisfactory 
  due to the contempt and hostility the Sword World Solomani 
  exhibited towards Darrian culture. At the same time, the two 
  Confederations found themselves competing for the same 
  external markets: independent worlds within the Spinward 
  Marches and Imperial worlds along the Imperium’s border. 
  Taken together with the looming threat of the mistrusted 
  Zhodani Consulate, the Darrians naturally enough, searched 
  for diplomatic means of neutralising its two natural adversaries. 
  The only major power with the ability to achieve that was the 
  Third Imperium.
  For 800 years after it had regained the stars, the Darrian 
  Confederation was content to pursue an independent course. 
  Trade ties with the lmperium were inevitable but Darrians 
  maintained strict neutrality with regard to military activities. In 
  the 400s, Darrians began to see a need for greater military 
  security and in response, established their Special Arm and 
  deployed the Star Trigger as a deterrent to aggression. 
  
  59
  The next century was one of uneasy peace. The Zhodani and 
  the Sword Worlds made overtures to the Darrians, proposing 
  alliances against the Imperium. The Darrians, determined to 
  pursue a neutral course and not trusting the potential allies, 
  turned them down. At the same time, Darrians began to see 
  that the star trigger deterrent was not a perfect one. The threat 
  of destroying whole stars was enough to stop most aggression 
  but it would not be enough if the entire region were engulfed in 
  war. The threat of destabilising stars might keep forces out of 
  Darrian territory but it was unrealistic to assume that the Star 
  Trigger could be used to ban all warfare in the sector. 
  Darrians paid careful attention to defence planning throughout 
  the 400s and 500s. The uneasy peace in the Spinward 
  Marches deteriorated throughout the 500s. In 589, after 10 
  years of increasingly belligerent border incidents, the Zhodani 
  Consulate, in concert with the Vargr and the Sword Worlds, 
  attacked the Imperium. The Darrian Confederation remained 
  neutral; it seemed the wisest course at the time. The Sword 
  Worlds changed the situation dramatically. Before the war, there 
  were several Sword World governments; when the war began, 
  these governments united to create one ruling government 
  under the control of the Sword Worlds Navy.
  Mistaking Darrian neutrality for weakness, the Sword World 
  Navy invaded the strategically placed Entropic Worlds in 593 
  to capture a productive mining complex located there. That was 
  enough to spur the Confederation to action. Darrian forces were 
  mobilised; overtures to the Imperium produced a military alliance 
  that pressured the Sword Worlds from two sides. The First 
  Frontier War ended in 604, unfortunately without returning the 
  Entropic Worlds to the Darrians. Peace, however, was only an 
  uneasy interlude. While the antagonists accepted an armistice, 
  the Imperium itself faced a political crisis that plunged it into a 
  civil war and the Darrians watched helplessly as Entrope was 
  used by the Sword Worlds as a dumping ground for political 
  dissidents.
  the aslan
  On the eve of the First Frontier War in the midst of a massive 
  military build-up, a new species arrived in Darrian space. An 
  Aslan ihatei fleet of second sons searching for new terrain 
  had meandered into the Spinward Marches. Seeing a golden 
  opportunity to recruit allies to their cause, the Darrians requested 
  aid from the strange, warlike race. 
  Sensing a chance to win Sword World territories by force, 
  the Aslan readily agreed, allying themselves with the Darrian 
  Confederation. Soldiers served alongside humans in Darrian 
  troop units as well as in specially raised mercenary companies 
  composed wholly of Aslan. Spacers served aboard rapidly 
  produced Darrian warships and on their own Aslan-built 
  cruisers. Aslan in service to the Darrian Confederation fought 
  throughout the First Frontier War (589 to 604) and maintained 
  Darrian neutrality during the first half of the Imperial Civil 
  War. They again fought as Darrians alongside Imperial forces 
  against the Zhodani in the Second Frontier War (615 to 622). 
  Aslan commerce raiders even ventured deep into Zhodani and 
  Vargr territory to carry the war behind enemy lines.
  Aslan loyalty was bought not with money but with the promise 
  of the most valuable thing an Aslan male can possess – land of 
  his own. When the First and Second Frontier Wars ended, the 
  Aslan troopers and spacers were awarded vast grants of fallow 
  territory on Daryen and other worlds of the Darrian Group. Their 
  service to the Confederation made them truly welcome in the 
  years after the war and they integrated quickly into Darrian 
  society as equals and brothers.
  reCent history
  Frustrated by the failure of the Imperium to help reclaim its lost 
  worlds and protect Darrian citizens from ongoing persecution, 
  the Confederation launched their own expedition in 788, retaking 
  the Entropic worlds in a lightning blitzkrieg. The aggressive 
  action took the Imperium, Zhodani and especially the Sword 
  Worlders by complete surprise, causing the collapse of the 
  unified Sword World government.
  A precarious Trilateral Alliance was formed between the 
  strongest Sword World states, their internecine power struggles 
  preventing a joint retaliatory strike against the Confederation. 
  The Darrians made good use of the time, decommissioning the 
  thousands of gulags they found on Entrope, offering citizenship 
  to any Sword Worlders who wished to change nationality. 
  Funding new industrialisation and infrastructure, the burgeoning 
  populace began to turn the planet from a frozen strip mine into a 
  highly productive manufacturing world.
  Between 800 to 826 the Imperium began a series of hysterical 
  Psionic purges. Whilst the Darrians were open-minded about 
  such powers, they subtly began to tone down open use of 
  psionics in order to maintain good diplomatic relations with 
  their allies. Behind the scenes, the Psionic Suppressions drove 
  many psionics to the Confederation seeking asylum, where 
  they were covertly accepted and secreted to Rorre. Whilst 
  Imperial citizens assume Darrians share their abhorrence for 
  mental powers, higher echelon members of the military and 
  espionage services are aware of the Psychic enclaves within 
  the Confederation but do not take issue with it.
  In 848 the Trilateral Alliance collapsed, leading to four years of 
  anarchism on the Sword Worlds. Although initially welcomed by 
  the Darrians, political scientists fretted that the eventual result 
  would be a stronger, more authoritarian government. Their 
  predictions proved true with the formation of the Sword World 
  Confederacy; in mimicry of the Darrians own Confederation. To 
  
  60
  their relief the centralised Sword World parliament was not able 
  to re-establish a joint fleet. 
  The Darrian Confederacy was not directly attacked in the 
  Third Frontier War (979-986) but did send support elements to 
  reinforce the Imperial manoeuvres. Fleet logistics revealed a 
  technological lag in their ally’s military productivity, so after the 
  conclusion of hostilities, plans were set in motion to revitalise the 
  Darrian manufacturing base. Pontificating by Imperial ministers 
  and a lack of funding for new capital ship dockyards eventually 
  resulted in the Imperium offering to construct new classes 
  of cruiser in return for the science behind any cutting edge 
  technological specifications incorporated in their construction. 
  Terms agreed the Darrians took advantage of the manufacturing 
  infrastructure on Entrope to begin work on a series of modest 
  commercial shipyards, together with a naval base to guard 
  them. The plans were seen as provocative by the Sword World 
  Confederacy, which seethed impotently as the facilities slowly 
  approached competition, just two parsecs from their own 
  forward military base in Hrunting. 
  The situation further deteriorated when the Imperium decided 
  to establish another naval base near Quar, which flanked the 
  Zhodani acquisitions in the Querion subsector. The Consulate 
  protested against such antagonism, fearing what might happen 
  to the vulnerable spur, if caught in a strategic pincer between 
  the two major fleet facilities. Seeing a future Quar naval base 
  as the more significant threat, the Zhodani staged a belligerent 
  incident near the system, unintentionally leading to the Fourth 
  Frontier War and a series of fleet battles in the Jewel and 
  Cronor subsectors.
  Increasingly worried by the nearing completion of the fleet 
  facilities around Entrope, the Sword Worlds used the pretexts 
  of the Fourth Frontier War to launch an all out assault on the 
  world, supported morally, if not militarily, by their Zhodani 
  allies. The surprise attack not only destroyed the base before 
  its defences could be brought fully online, but flushed with 
  success the Sword World fleet continued to conquer the rest of 
  the Entropic Worlds. 
  Suffering significant losses from the unheralded attack, 
  the Darrian Navy was forced to withdraw from the Entropic 
  Worlds, abandoning the outflanked penal colony on Torment 
  in the process. Later reconnaissance revealed that the penal 
  installation was empty, whatever had happened to the prisoners 
  unknown. Shortly afterwards however, a spate of vicious piracy 
  began attacking merchant shipping and supply lines deep within 
  the Confederation, which prevented a Darrian counter attack 
  from relieving the annexed worlds before peace was signed 
  between the Imperium and the Zhodani.
  The last 10 years has seen the arrival of the new generation 
  of TL15 cruisers from the Imperium and a gradual build up of 
  Darrian military forces in anticipation of further Zhodani or Sword 
  World aggression. Whilst the Confederation remains a close 
  ally of the Third Imperium, opinions are beginning to be voiced 
  over Emperor Strephon’s apparent lack of efforts concerning 
  failure to regain the Entropic Worlds or the maltreatment of the 
  subjugated Darrian population.
  darrian tiMeline
  The following gathers together some of the important events in 
  Darrian history.
  Date
  Event
  -312,000 
  The Ancient Onsorik transports Terran humans to Daryen for purposes unknown.
  -302,000 
  Final War destroyed Ancient bases on Daryen.
  -200,000 
  Daryen flame pits begin to burn out.
  -100,000 
  Extensive migrations on Daryen. Basins settled.
  -23,000 
  Philosopher-king Derir Lepit of Boyr Basin states the philosophy that dominates Darrian culture.
  -22,000 
  Hermit philosopher Yikan of Nyadh Basin creates the basic commandment: ‘All living things must be allowed to live their own 
  lives.’ 
  -20,000 
  People of Abh Basin begin migrating through the mountains to the neighbouring equatorial Nyadh, Rimb and Boyr Basins.
  -16,000
  Explorers cross the mountain ranges isolating the north polar Zlodh Basin on Daryen.
  -15,000 
  Rise of the Zlodh Empire.
  -10,000 
  Basic science becomes widespread. Zlodh Empire gradually fragments into many kingdoms.
  -1520 
  Solomani ltzin fleet arrives on Daryen.
  -1511 
  Terran traders contact Darrians.
  -1410 
  Darrians begin space exploration.
  -1400 
  Terrans absorbed into Darrian mainstream. Pollution begins to affect Daryen.
  -1395 
  Initial Darrian exploration spreads through the worlds of the Darrian group.
  -1370 
  Jump-2 drives in regular service with Daryen ships, some jump-3.
  -1310
  Scientific surveys concentrate on the worlds of the Darrian Group.
  -1300 
  Daryen movement demanding respect for individual workers.
  -1270 
  Darrian exploration reaches 20 parsecs out.
  -1250 
  Darrian society accepts the idea of a living wage, consideration for the individual and a need to consider the impact of technology 
  on society.
  
  61
  -1250
  Rorre, the first Darrian colony, is settled by those wishing to return to a pre-industrial life style. Scientific research stations begin 
  to be built on other worlds in the Darrian Group.
  -1100 
  Usable worlds in the Darrian Group establish permanent colonies. TL 14 reached.
  -1000 
  Detailed observations of the Daryen sun Tarnis begin.
  -990 
  Daryen establishes an outpost on Epsilon/Bowman.
  -980 
  Tarsus visited by Darrian explorers.
  -935 
  Research station founded on Telaret by the University of Zlodh, as part of the Udh project.
  -925 
  The Abh Project finishes construction of the first star probe.
  -924 
  Darrians reach TL 16.
  -924
  The Abh Project launches second star probe. Tarnis erupts, causing the Maghiz.
  -924
  Daryen civilisation collapses.
  -905 
  Darrian colonial worlds agree to go their own way after the devastation of the Maghiz.
  -904
  The gamma ray burst of the Maghiz finally peters out, after travelling six parsecs.
  -860 
  Last of the Darrian colonies abandon space to concentrate on recovery efforts.
  -820 
  The pharmaceutical gathering station on Gungnir dies out.
  -399 
  Sword Worlds colonisation begun.
  -350
  Some Darrian worlds regain orbital capability.
  -275 
  Mire achieves Jump Drive manufacturing capability and begins contacting the colonies.
  -271 
  Mire takes the leadership role rebuilding Darrian interstellar society.
  -265 
  A Mire exploration ship arrives at Tizon establishing contact with the Sword Worlds.
  -238 
  Foundation of the Darrian Community placing Mire at the centre of power. Most colonies recognised as independent worlds.
  -187 
  First Zhodani contact with Darrians.
  -186 
  The Sacnoth Dominate, the first Sword Worlds interstellar government, is formed.
  -165 
  Major setback in Darrian-Zhodani relations when Darrians discover that the Zhodani had been aware of the Maghiz but had not 
  offered humanitarian assistance.
  -164 
  Formal diplomatic relations begin between the Sacnoth Dominate and the Darrian Community.
  -40 
  Colonisation of Engrange from Ilium.
  -20 
  Establishment of welfare bureaucracy to support lower-class Darrians.
  60 
  Imperial colonisation of Spinward Marches begins.
  98 
  Gram-Sacnoth War begins. Contact between the Imperium and the Darrians is lost.
  147 
  Imperial Scouts contact Sword Worlds.
  148 
  Imperial Scouts contact the Darrians. Foundation of the Darrian Confederation replacing the treaties of the Darrian Community.
  390 
  Darrian Confederation Navy recovers a cache of TL 16 ships of pre-Maghiz manufacture.
  488 
  Darrian Special Arm created.
  489 
  Star Trigger weapon demonstrated, stunning and scaring the foreign dignitaries invited to attend.
  585 
  Aslan arrive offering to fight for the Darrians.
  589 
  First Frontier War begins.
  593 
  Sword Worlds troops invade the Entropic worlds of the Darrian Confederation.
  595 
  Darrians sign alliance with Imperium after loss of the Entropic Worlds.
  604 
  First Frontier War ends.
  604 
  Imperial Civil War begins. Aslan allies are granted lands within the Confederation.
  611 
  A Darrian research station is setup on Mertactor.
  615 
  Second Frontier War begins.
  616 
  Zhodani fleets withdraw from Darrian space after uncovering evidence of Darrian plans to deploy Star Triggers.
  620 
  Second Frontier War ends.
  622 
  Imperial Civil War ends.
  625 
  Imperial negotiators give up attempting to convince the Second Dominate to hand back the Entropic Worlds to the Darrian 
  Confederation.
  788 
  Darrian Confederation launches surprise attack, resulting in the regaining of the four Entropic worlds lost in the First Frontier War.
  789 
  Research station re-established on Telaret, an inner moon of Leryin, by the University of Nyadh.
  800 
  To prevent friction with the Imperium, the Darrians lower the profile of their own psionics but offer a refuge for those fleeing the 
  Imperium.
  979 
  Third Frontier War begins.
  986 
  Third Frontier War ends.
  1012 
  Two Azhanti High Lightning class fleet intruders, Mire and Darrian, transferred to Darrian Confederation. 
  1050 
  The University of Boyr establishes a research lab on Poror, a satellite of Bidhes.
  1082 
  Fourth Frontier War begins.
  1084 
  The Sword Worlds annex the Entropic Worlds from the Darrian Confederation, the Darrian counterattack only manages to 
  recover Cunnonic long lost to them.
  1084 
  Fourth Frontier War ends. Nonym segregates itself from the Darrian Confederation.
  1093 
  Discovery of former Darrian outpost on Bowman.
  1094
  Darrian Confederation arranges a trade deal to exchange advanced TL15 Cruiser designs in exchange for the first models.
  1102
  Darrian begins to reallocate its previous TL13 warships to colonial squadrons, as the first of the new cruisers are delivered.
  1105 
  Current year. Darrian sociologists continue to refine predictions of when hostilities between the Zhodani Consulate and the 
  Imperium will break out again.
  Date
  Event
  
  62
  darrian seCrets
  The following chapter takes a closer look at the nature of the 
  Darrians and some of the mysteries which surround their culture 
  and history. Whilst viewed as an open minded and generous 
  people, they are not and have never been pacifists, but are 
  willing to do what is necessary in order to survive. Some darker 
  secrets of their development have been repressed, forgotten 
  even by the Darrians themselves. 
  Although the unusual stability and homogenous nature of 
  their Confederation is lauded by all space faring nations, it 
  is not a natural construction – but was imposed by rigorous 
  sociological and ecological controls long before they ever left 
  their own homeworld. Their remarkable achievement is all the 
  stranger when considering that no human polity that embraces 
  intellectual freedom has existed so long without internecine 
  instability and at their core, Darrians are human too.
  onsorik’s projeCt
  The Darrians were originally human ancestors, taken from 
  Earth approximately 300,000 years ago by an Ancient whose 
  name has been passed down in mythology as Onsorik. Whilst 
  the dates of the original orchards were not verified until later, the 
  objective of their resettlement became a matter of conjecture 
  by the early Priests of Zlodh. The primordial stories suggested 
  that Onsorik was a benevolent saviour figure who gifted the 
  Darrians all they desired, commanding them naught but to 
  go forth and multiply. Yet certain oddities did not bear out the 
  beneficent nature of the deity.
  Why? The priests asked, did Onsorik create five separate 
  basins, all nearly identical, and then separate them from one 
  another with high impenetrable mountains? To their scientific 
  minds, this was an obvious experimental technique designed 
  to run control groups. More worrying were the ‘boons’ of the 
  orchards. With free food, shelter and warmth, but no diseases, 
  predators or contraception, the orchards seemed designed to 
  encourage a population explosion.
  According to the few crude records available to them from 
  before the social reformation, the priests calculated that once 
  the orchards had reached their capacity, social conflict was 
  guaranteed. With a million or more Darrians packed into a 
  region less than 20 kilometres across and no means of birth 
  control, the population density and drain on the food resources 
  must have become intolerable. 
  long planning genius or sadistiC Monster?
  Although the Priests of Zlodh came to the conclusion that 
  Onsorik was an inhumane deity, treating the Darrians 
  as mere ants in a formicarium, their observations were 
  somewhat unjustified. Although Onsorik was an Ancient 
  with incredible resources at his command, he sensed and 
  feared the growing rift between differing factions of his 
  race.
  The formation of Daryen had a specific purpose – the 
  study and solving of intra-social conflict – in the hope of 
  applying the same lessons to his fellow Ancients, before 
  they descended to more destructive confrontations. 
  Humans were a perfect test subject for his eugenics 
  experiment. They were social yet aggressive, fast 
  breeding but physically weak, and gifted with the seeds of 
  both intelligence and arrogance; a close enough simile of 
  the Ancients themselves, to provide usable data.
  Dividing the world into five carefully separated test areas 
  Onsorik removed every hindrance to development save 
  that of human beings themselves. The first few iterations of 
  overpopulation and collapse helped the Ancient discover 
  meaningful insights into sociology, with which he tweaked 
  an environmental change here or a genome there. After 
  each basin had progressed though half a dozen cycles 
  Onsorik was sure that he was on the cusp of a solution, 
  when his long apprehended war broke out between the 
  Ancients.
  The Ancient fled Daryen, hoping to return at a later 
  time. His departure undoubtedly saved the world from 
  total annihilation, but the unanticipated evacuation had 
  unintended results. Abandoned before completion, the 
  proto-Darrians, were still trapped in a cycle of population 
  explosion and collapse. Without Onsorik’s guidance, they 
  were forced to evolve through countless more repetitions 
  until they literally bred the seeds of social unity into their 
  psyches; ultimately succeeding in their creator’s objective.
  Thus much of the horror suffered for a hundred thousand 
  years was not a deliberate act by an amoral god, but the 
  tragic disruption of a program to avert a galactic cataclysm. 
  
  63
  A few of the myths recalled a prodigious wave of death, the first 
  of countless holocausts, driven by the threat of starvation. The 
  tales from some basins told of Darrians culling their own family 
  members by infanticide or geriatricide; others of tribal factions 
  that slaughtered each other, even resorting to cannibalism. 
  Over time the stories had become heroic, if grisly, epics but the 
  priests asked themselves what deity would deliberately allow 
  such a thing to happen, not just once but repeatedly in five 
  separate locations, and slowly they began to suspect that the 
  basins, the orchards and the failing firepits had been nothing 
  but a vast sociological experiment.
  Offended by their conclusions but finding no flaw in their logic, 
  the priesthood determined that Onsorik was a dispassionate 
  creature who deserved no worship. Whatever his ultimate 
  purpose his actions had been the epitome of dispassionate 
  observation. Something the priests never forgot.
  suBversions and exCavations
  One of the consequences of the Zlodh Priesthood’s investigations 
  into the ancient history of the Darrian race, was a unified attempt 
  to suppress the organised religion and mythology of Onsorik, 
  replacing it with more secular traditions. Like most attempts at 
  repression it did not entirely succeed, many tales remained in 
  traditional folklore. Yet efforts continued over centuries, the epic 
  poems glorifying ancient heroes and tragic battles replaced with 
  more humorous tales of ethical dilemma and cooperative effort. 
  The priests preached the Code of Taledh whilst guiding the 
  basins to form the first of many global unifications.
  Although communal knowledge was lost, the priests carefully 
  recorded everything in their own records of baked clay or 
  carved stone. A discovery of a cache of these tablets in 892 
  led to the recovery of long forgotten mythology and spurred 
  the Darrian educational community to relocate the lost firepits. 
  History, archaeology and linguistics being minor subjects in the 
  forward rush of Darrian scientific development; the study team 
  struggled to glean the original locations of the Orchards from 
  the texts, hidden as they were by two hundred thousand years 
  of detritus, both environmental and legendary.
  Eventually the researchers turned to the geology specialists 
  to design a suite of ground penetrating sensors to locate any 
  unusual subsurface cists which connected to the surface via 
  solidified lava filled vents. The technological solution located 
  five particular locations which roughly matched the historical 
  clues, buried deeply under metres of sediment.
  Excavating the long filled and overgrown firepits was no easy 
  task but eventually the researchers uncovered parts of the 
  Boyr orchard. Careful removal of layer upon layer of habitation 
  gave substance to the horror stories recorded in the tablets. As 
  archaeologists dug deeper, increasing numbers of mass graves 
  were uncovered, filled with the bones of slowly fossilising victims 
  slaughtered by violence or ritual sacrifices, some of which indeed 
  retained the faint gnaw marks of Darrian teeth. In order to prevent 
  public abhorrence, the dig was quickly shut down.
  Successfully covering up the incident, the scholars gathered 
  to debate what should be done. With grudging acceptance 
  they decided to repress the information on the tablets, fearing 
  sociological damage would be caused to the Darrian self image 
  of being a peaceful cooperative race. Although publications 
  were printed concerning the rediscovery of the Orchards, they 
  concentrated on grave goods or primitive tools rather than 
  reveal the more grizzly findings.
  From that point onwards, academic staff in the highest 
  echelons of the Daryen universities tried to restrict access to 
  the archaeological sites, discouraging future excavations. This 
  has not always been successful. Further digs in other basins 
  revealed the same general pattern of development, so that 
  knowledge of their awful beginnings has become an open 
  secret amongst historians.
  
  64
  Recently a few more outspoken scholars have tried to expose 
  the original archaeological findings, claiming that the truth 
  should be shared by all. Public opinion however has swung 
  against what is generally considered ‘crack-pot’ theorists, 
  Darrian group denial absolutely forbidding them to accept such 
  a shameful origin.
  the aBh projeCt
  Set up to study worrying instabilities in Tarnis, Daryen’s sun, 
  the Abh Project was designed to send probes into the star 
  and beam out readings. Such an undertaking was initially 
  considered impossible but a handpicked team of the most 
  capable engineers and scientists was formed to solve any 
  technical difficulties.
  With intellectual arrogance typical of the time, the team threw 
  themselves at the task. The problems were threefold. Firstly 
  anything going into the star would not be coming out again. The 
  surface gravity was well beyond the capability of gravitic drives 
  to overcome. Secondly the incredible temperatures inside the 
  star would quickly overwhelm any temperature shielding, so the 
  probe would only have a brief period of time to take readings 
  before it was destroyed. Thirdly was the difficulty of transmitting 
  the data back out of Tarnis.
  Whilst inroads were made on the first two hurdles, the third 
  posed an insurmountable problem. Daryen had mastered meson 
  communications but using them in close proximity to a star 
  was akin to placing a pin light in middle of a burning forest and 
  trying to spot it from geostationary orbit. The incomprehensible 
  amount of radiation streaming from the star hid any signal and 
  corrupted it with interference. Alternative solutions such as 
  trailing a superconducting cable or launching a return probe all 
  failed in the extreme conditions. 
  After more than two decades working on the problems, the 
  Abh project team was preparing to report their failure. A 
  chance meeting however, brought a second project developing 
  advanced communications to their attention. The Udh project 
  claimed to have a foolproof method of transmitting data cross 
  system at faster than light speeds but was under Confederation 
  security protocols and could not reveal the theoretical 
  mechanism. 
  A request was placed to the Daryen Security Council for 
  clearance to this vital new technology but was refused. However 
  driven by concern over the increasing incidence of solar flares, 
  the Council granted access to experimental transmitters, which 
  would be built via the Udh Project. 
  The Udh Project worked from several secure bases. One 
  outpost on Telaret, a moon of Leryin, constructed the highly 
  secret transmitter, whist a second outpost on the moon 
  Poror, the innermost satellite of Bidhes, was used to hold the 
  receiver. Dedicated meson communicators of great power were 
  constructed at the University of Zlodh and both moons to ensure 
  continuous communications.
  The Abh Project, based in the asteroid belt that was supplying 
  its raw materials, continued work designing a probe to survive 
  the inside of the star. The final design took the form of a solid 
  sphere of iron, 20 metres in diameter. A conical core was ground 
  into the centre, which was hollowed out to a 10 metre inner 
  sphere. Inside this was where the sensors, nuclear dampers, 
  grav plate shields and power plant were installed, leaving a 
  space for the Udh communications module to be inserted. Once 
  loaded a precisely shaped iron plug was placed in the access 
  hole to seal it, held in place by magnetism before Tarnil’s own 
  immense pressure would take over the task.
  The first probe barely descended to 18,000 kilometres before its 
  shields failed. Disconcertingly, the drop coincided with a solar 
  flare, which caused the crew of the drop ship to be hospitalised 
  with radiation poisoning. No scientific explanation could link the 
  infinitesimally tiny probe with an event of such scale, so it was 
  marked off as dumb luck.
  Data from the first drop was crude but had been recovered; 
  the Udh team promising an even more extensive result for the 
  next mission. The second probe was redesigned in light of 
  the previous failure. This version was a nickel-iron sphere 30 
  metres in diameter, covered in a further 20 metre thickness of 
  ceramic foam filled with powdered tungsten to act as a coolant. 
  The strength of the powered shielding was upped by an order 
  of magnitude to cope with the predicted temperatures in the 
  millions of degrees.
  The Udh communications module inserted moments before 
  launch, the second probe was cast into Tarnis at a higher 
  velocity. This time the sphere left a discernable trail behind 
  itself as it plunged through the chromo and photospheres; the 
  combination of vaporised tungsten, nuclear dampening and 
  physical turbulence forming a vortex behind itself. Yet as the 
  probe penetrated the radiative zone, odd signals began to be 
  received by the Poror station. However, little could be done to 
  abort the mission, which failed anyway at a depth of 300,000 
  kilometres. Nine minutes later, the Maghiz struck Daryen.
  What really triggered the Maghiz?
  Generations of Darrian physicists have studied the Maghiz 
  striving to comprehend how such a tiny object managed to 
  induce the greatest extinction event in the history of Humaniti. 
  Despite claims of TL17 hyper technological devices, the current 
  theory held by most scientists of the Special Arm is that the 
  interference of two massive meson beams managed to create 
  
  65
  a superconducting conduit in the vaporised tungsten coolant, 
  allowing energy to flood out from the star’s radiative zone. 
  However such a process is technically impossible under known 
  physics, thus no one actually understands why it works, just that 
  it does (see The Star Trigger).
  Realistically the Maghiz was an event well beyond mundane 
  technology to produce. A number of alternate suggestions as 
  to what really caused the stellar eruption are presented below:
  • 
  Hidden within the star is a singularity weapon held within a 
  pocket dimension which guards a portal to one of Onsorik’s 
  personal hideouts. Built as a booby trap for any Ancient 
  who poked its snout too deeply into Tarnis, the weapon 
  system starts activating itself when ships pass close by, 
  destabilising convection currents within the star, but only 
  triggering when an obviously technological object passes 
  well beyond the photosphere – something only an Ancient 
  vessel should be able to perform. The gamma-ray burst 
  is generated by briefly opening the pocket dimension and 
  allowing stellar material to fall onto the singularity.The Udh 
  project had accidentally discovered that psionics could 
  perform planetary range telepathy with no discernable 
  time lag. Their top secret project involved cybernetically 
  wiring up telepaths to amplification devices in order to 
  boost their mental signals to trans-stellar ranges. Both Abh 
  probes contained ‘volunteer’ telepaths, whether terminally 
  ill psychics from Rorre or co-opted exiles, who accidentally 
  discovered in their moment of expiration that the internal 
  space-time warping of stars act as psionic magnifiers of 
  exponential scale. The Maghiz was merely the telekinetic 
  manifestation of an agonising death.
  • 
  Unimagined by Darrian scientists Tarnis is inhabited by 
  an exotic trans-dimensional species of life based on 
  magnetically contained plasma. The vast creatures flow 
  and swim through the outer stellar layers, physically 
  observable as dynamic flux lines which twist over the sun’s 
  surface. The nuclear dampers of the first Abh probe proved 
  to be mildly irritating. The second probe was strong enough 
  to cause an angry backlash of incomprehensible power.
  • 
  The records remaining from the time of the Maghiz are 
  confusingly incomplete. In reality the second probe 
  failed too, forcing the Abh team to attempt a hitherto 
  incomprehensible feat. Creating an entirely new branch of 
  mathematics the Darrians managed to overcome the 100 
  diameter limit of jump drives. Building a vast antimatter 
  powered prototype, the third probe was programmed to 
  emerge deep within the star and immediately jump back. 
  Unfortunately, the colossal in-fall of fusing hydrogen 
  onto the gravitational sheer of the jump drive generated 
  singularity, caused a modest supernova inside of the star.
  Countering the zhodani
  When the Darrian colonies recovered interstellar travel they 
  discovered their subsector was surrounded by strange cultures, 
  some of which proved to be increasingly untrustworthy as time 
  passed. One of the biggest problems faced by the Confederation 
  was the threat posed by Zhodani psychics. Although the 
  Darrians began to invest large amounts of money in counter-
  psionic protection, it proved difficult to protect a civilian official 
  from being mind read at some point, whether they took off their 
  shield when bathing or inadvertently meet an telepathic agent 
  inside a shielded environment.
  Native psychics rarely reside openly in Darrian society, those 
  gifted with psychic abilities generally emigrate to enclaves on 
  Rorre or join the Special Arm to serve the Confederation. With 
  so few telepathic agents and their talents stretched thin, a group 
  of respected academics from the University of Zlodh secretly 
  devised a plan that involved applying Darrian intellect against 
  psionic powers, using subtlety to defeat raw power.
  The scholars devised a method of manipulating the 
  Zhodani based upon the following principles; misdirection, 
  compartmentalisation and anonymity. In practice it relies on a 
  small team of information coordinators who supply those likely 
  to be mind scanned with false evidence to mislead Zhodani 
  agents, but redirect the real facts to the fewest number of 
  anonymous people who actually need to know.
  Weaving this web of obfuscation is the task of the Intelligence 
  branch of the Special Arm, and even their ranks are segregated 
  on a need to know basis. Special Arm Intelligence (SAI) 
  receives, analyses and then redirects all information concerning 
  enemy troop movements, spying reports, internal security 
  findings, cutting edge scientific research and technological 
  developments – basically any covert or sensitive data pertaining 
  to the defence of the Confederation. Due to the strategic level 
  of knowledge that SAI sit on, they also hold a great deal of 
  influence over the unsuspecting Confederation Council which is 
  completely unaware of sometimes being manipulated.
  SAI specialise in creating believable falsehoods hidden under 
  several layers of half-truths. Persistent agents may penetrate 
  several layers of these ‘intellectual onions’ but few ever reach 
  the core. To ensure information trails do not lead back to SAI the 
  officers use multiple paths of information dissemination, such as 
  using backdoor access codes into Ministry computer systems to 
  plant data supposedly submitted from a legitimate employee, 
  which is eventually shuffled via intermediaries to the Council 
  itself. Sometimes the results of highly confidential experiments 
  or analytical searches are remotely edited to encourage false 
  conclusions. Large networks of rumour mongers are also 
  utilised to spread less covert information.
  
  66
  Thus far the mind games played by the SAI have paid off. No 
  polity is aware of the shadow organisation that occasionally 
  controls the Confederation, although the Zhodani are beginning 
  to wonder about odd political dynamics that their agents have 
  picked up on.
  Many ruses are currently running, the most obvious being that 
  of the reality of the Star Trigger or the inability of Darrians to 
  produce TL16 items. However, the organisation still leaves 
  unavoidable traces of its activity and eventually the whole house 
  of cards will collapse. Hopes are that scientific knowledge can be 
  developed so far ahead of the opposition that the Confederation 
  will be able to, for a short while, hold off aggressive acts by its 
  disproportionally sized neighbours.
  the star trigger
  Of all the dissembling cover stories which shield the Darrians, 
  the Star Trigger is the most pervasive. In the 400s the gradual 
  mobilisation of Zhodani ships near the borders of Darrian space, 
  forced the Confederation Council to realise it needed some 
  way to hold off the huge Consulate, whose military resources 
  could have easily overwhelmed the Darrian fleet. The Council’s 
  solution was to build a weapon which would act as the ultimate 
  deterrent, capable of producing a new Maghiz. Yet despite 
  access to fragmentary journal written by one of the surviving 
  Abh project team members in which personal notes about the 
  probe had been made, the best scientists of the Confederation 
  failed to replicate the effect.
  Left with little choice, the scientists used their advanced 
  astronomical knowledge and sensors to precisely predict 
  a major series of solar flares of an obscure star near Stern-
  Stern. A completely fake Star Trigger weapon was constructed; 
  even the separate engineering teams used to build various 
  components were deceived. At the same time the Special Arm, 
  a new military branch named formed to guard the weapon, was 
  trained in its maintenance and launch. Once preparations were 
  complete, delegates from the Zhodani Consulate, Imperium 
  and Sword Worlds were invited to a carefully orchestrated 
  demonstration.
  The handful who knew that the whole demonstration was fake 
  were stationed halfway across the system to ensure their guilt 
  could not be detected. The rest of the engineers and Special 
  Arm operatives remained fully convinced of the weapon’s 
  capabilities. 
  Explaining that the device could not be operated at full power, 
  due to the damage it would cause to nearby systems, the 
  delegates were horrified to view the eruption of an unusually 
  huge solar flare. The Confederation leaders, clearly pleased 
  with the demonstration, expressed the Confederation’s desire 
  to be left in peace.
  Sword World scientists were less convinced of the exhibition’s 
  validity but could not explain the precise timing. The Zhodani on 
  the other hand, had detailed records of the original Maghiz and 
  knew the Darrians were capable of making a star erupt. They 
  doubted, however, that the Darrians would have the courage to 
  actually deploy the weapon in a war.
  Frustratingly the Sword Worlds called the Darrian’s bluff in 
  the First Frontier War annexing the Entropic Worlds. After the 
  ceasefire, Zhodani analysts noted that no Star Trigger weapon 
  had been utilised, although it was pointed out that using the 
  weapon on the Sword Worlds would have affected the Darrians’ 
  own systems, potentially cutting themselves off from the 
  Spinward Main. 
  Taking their lack of resolve as a sign of moral weakness, in the 
  Second Frontier War Zhodani naval vessels decided to penetrate 
  Confederation space. Alarmed, the Confederation government 
  ordered the deployment of the Star Trigger completely unaware 
  that it did not work. Faced with utter disaster, the handful of 
  SAI officers privy to the secret were helpless to influence the 
  council members, so connived to briefly withdraw the Special 
  Arm telepaths allowing a small opportunity for Zhodani agents 
  to detect the righteous determination of the Confederation 
  Government. The manoeuvre worked and the Zhodani fleet 
  was rapidly recalled.
  Realising its mistake, over the succeeding centuries the SAI 
  have carefully modified the light in which the Star Trigger is seen 
  in, turning it from the ultimate deterrent into a horrific genocidal 
  weapon, capable of exterminating billions with a single 
  application. Few in the upper echelons of the Confederation are 
  now willing to suffer the moral consequences of using the Star 
  Trigger, preferring conventional war instead.
  Supervision of the Star Trigger weapons remains firmly under 
  the control of the Special Arm, which suits the Confederation 
  Navy who view it as a political time-bomb. The bogus devices 
  appear as huge featureless metallic balls, which are transported 
  by a small group of pre-Maghiz cargo vessels. They rely on 
  stealth rather than weaponry and despite the occasional 
  deployment training mission, never cross the boundaries of the 
  Confederation.
  seCrets of the speCial arM
  Formed in 488, the Special Arm was originally created to 
  supervise and launch the much feared Star Trigger weapon. In 
  the centuries since its formation it has grown to include other 
  areas of responsibility. The service, whilst small in comparison 
  to the Guard or Navy, is regarded as the elite of the Darrian 
  Special Forces and possesses a mystique often emphasised in 
  public entertainment.
  
  67
  In reality, unlike the other services, most Special Arm officers 
  have seen active duty despite the Confederation not being 
  currently at war. As part of joining the Commandos recruits 
  undergo the permanent surgical implant of a psionic shield with 
  an accompanying suicide device which they are expected to 
  use if captured.
  Most commando duties involve clandestine missions outside 
  of the Confederation to deal with potential problems with the 
  Zhodani or Sword Worlds. They are also granted guardianship 
  of the Star Trigger weapons, which everyone, including the 
  crews, believe are the ultimate deterrent. The commandos 
  also engage in Confederation internal security, often going 
  undercover to expose foreign espionage activity or recover 
  illegally exported pre-Maghiz artefacts.
  Almost all Special Arm operatives are Darrian or Solomani, but 
  a few Aslan exist within the service restricted to duties which 
  would not draw unwelcome attention. No member is allowed 
  to marry and applicants with existing close family are generally 
  passed over; a necessary requirement, since members of the 
  Special Arm must be free from threats to loved ones, and must 
  also be able to detonate the Star Trigger on an inhabited world 
  if necessary.
  The commandos are not the only branch of the Special Arm. 
  The military organisation also has a psionic career path 
  for those blessed with mind powers. The few who qualify 
  are almost exclusively telepaths or clairvoyants, the other 
  psychic disciplines being rare in Darrian society. Psychics are 
  invaluable for interrogation of foreign agents and uncovering 
  spies employed as Confederation officials.
  Special Arm scientists are the third branch of the unit. Scholars 
  are recruited in one of two manners; the top 1% of university 
  alumni are offered post-graduate scholarships, or leading 
  researchers are offered huge grants to continue their work for 
  the Special Arm. The best minds who demonstrate dedication 
  and loyalty to the Special Arm are assigned to the Sigma Naval 
  Base to continue on the cutting edge research of the TL16 
  facilities sequestered there. 
  the lost fleet
  Discovered in 390 the Lost Fleet was a cache of TL16 warships 
  mothballed deep within an extra-solar planetoid in the far 
  Oort cloud of the Daryen system. Massively shielded against 
  detection, the fleet survived the Maghiz intact. Its location 
  was an accidental discovery by miners who detected sections 
  of a uniform metal surface scoured clean from some ancient 
  collision. Brought to the attention of the Confederation, the 
  navy moved in to interdict the region and began exploring the 
  contents of the pre-Maghiz weapons cache.
  unusual death rates
  As the organisation which most closely scrutinises Darrian 
  scientific progress, the Special Arm has recently become 
  alerted to a disturbing statistical trend of disappearance 
  and accidental death amongst leading scientists across 
  the Confederation.
  Further investigation has revealed that many of these up 
  and coming researchers or specialists were approached 
  with excellent job offers allegedly forwarded by large 
  megacorporations. The few who accepted simply 
  vanished, never communicating with friends of family 
  afterwards. Those that continued to hold out against further 
  inducements suffered remarkably consistent strokes of 
  adversity.
  Their research grants were revoked, shutting down their 
  project.
  They were framed for a crime, such as stealing ideas or 
  forging results.
  Artefacts or irreplaceable specimens vanished from 
  laboratories.
  Equipment or records were sabotaged to produce wrong 
  data.
  They were emotionally entangled by a member of the 
  opposite sex and abandoned.
  Those scientists who weathered such misfortunes 
  invariably ended up dead. The later triggered initial 
  suspicions since the methods of death were bizarrely 
  diverse, as if the perpetrators were trying to avoid leaving 
  a pattern. In addition, nearly all of the deaths coincided 
  with a media grabbing occurrence which sidelined the 
  obituaries of even famous scholars to the minor news 
  sections.
  Searching back through archives the Special Arm has 
  uncovered what appears to be a carefully orchestrated 
  plan to discredit scholars on the verge of making significant 
  breakthroughs in their field of specialisation. Traces of the 
  statistical anomaly seem to lead back more than three 
  decades. The objective appears to be the subversion 
  or stagnation of technological development, by a group 
  with a great deal of inside knowledge of Confederation 
  universities. The Special Arm has no proof as yet of whom 
  is responsible, suspecting the Sword Worlds, Zhodani and 
  even the Imperium.
  The public face of the Special Arm is the Confederation 
  Commandos. In social situations Commando officers try to 
  project a congenial personality but a certain hardness or reserve 
  always exists, often blamed on their reputation as ‘men apart’. 
  
  68
  When reactivated the fleet was comprised of 18 cruisers of 
  varying classes, half a dozen armed tenders and 14 small 
  couriers of different capabilities. Disconcertingly, the computers 
  aboard the cruisers were revealed to be fully functioning 
  Artificial Intelligences. After much thought, the warships were 
  assigned to the Confederation Navy whilst the smaller vessels 
  were held as a reserve but were eventually handed over to the 
  later formed Special Arm.
  Of the warships, four were 80,000 ton heavy cruisers, six 
  50,000 ton assault cruisers and eight 30,000 ton light cruisers, 
  each built around a meson spinal weapon in proportion to 
  their displacement. Although still constructed from Bonded 
  Superdense material, the vessels’ main advantage came from 
  their extremely efficient fusion plants, superior computers, and 
  excellent ECM systems, able to spoof, block or overload enemy 
  sensors of a lower TL. They were not invulnerable however 
  and despite a reputation for being able to take on three times 
  their number, they were only committed to battles that were 
  considered winnable by conventional fleet elements. In spite of 
  the conservative tactic, it eventually paid off by reducing the 
  damage the Darrian fleets suffered overall. 
  Over the centuries the AIs have become experts in using their 
  own weapons and defences, resulting in them now being 
  masters of strategy in their own right. This has developed into 
  a problem, since the vessels are now tactically superior to their 
  captains, with a tendency to second guess or even countermand 
  the bridge officers. Posting to one of the advanced ships is now 
  a retirement step. Only captains with a great deal of tolerance 
  are able to survive their term without suffering high blood 
  pressure.
  Each ship was named for a mythical hero from prehistory and 
  over time has developed their own personality quirks. 
  Heavy Cruisers: the Rhadnor, Mattizus, Stven and Prothaldh.
  Assault Cruisers: the Mhorgund, Ghilziam, Hehrtmun, Khomak, 
  Mhakuz and Brenhdn.
  Light Cruisers: the Yohan, Gherarkt, Phranz, Khardogn, 
  Phadrag, Zigfrehd, Vhituz and Pherign.
  sigMa naval Base 
  Although a number of advanced TL16 strongholds were 
  constructed in Darrian Space, few as yet have been 
  rediscovered. Sigma Base was only found after its coordinates 
  were revealed in the navigational database of the mothballed 
  pre-Maghiz warfleet, itself located in a heavily shielded base 
  hidden in the far outer reaches of the Daryen system.
  Built in deep space, to remain hidden from scouts, Sigma is a 
  large 200 kilometre ice planetoid, a comet now drifting between 
  stars. It is located somewhere midway between Engrange and 
  Zamine (Hex 0403). Since the location of the wandering ice ball 
  is in deep interstellar space, it is unlikely to be found by normal 
  scouting missions.
  Foreign intelligence agencies are aware of the existence of a 
  top secret base in Confederation space but have thus far been 
  unable to locate it. No navigational officer knows its coordinates, 
  these being hardcoded into the computer systems of the TL16 
  fleet that uses it as their home base. The ships themselves 
  prevent astronomical data being received by their sensors, 
  erecting black globes when they arrive, just to be extra safe.
  Inside, part of the icy planetoid has been hollowed out to act as 
  an immense fleet hanger and also serves as a manufacturing 
  base. The fixtures and fittings are all TL16 with an occasional 
  TL17 device, the majority still functional since the base had been 
  carefully shut down before it was abandoned. The excavated 
  volume is capable of holding up to twice the number of cruisers 
  originally recovered from the weapons cache in Daryen, and 
  has extensive crew and recreational facilities. The dockyard 
  and hanger are equably shared between Navy and Special Arm 
  forces. The deeper sections however are restricted to Special 
  Arm personnel only, with battle dress armed commandos 
  guarding all access ways.
  Inside the restricted areas are computer banks, command 
  centres, weapon controls, medical facilities, hydroponics 
  sections, and two impressively efficient fusion power plants. 
  The mothballed munitions stores contain a comprehensive 
  range of armaments, from which the Special Arm has borrowed 
  much of its advanced weaponry. A select number of Special 
  Arm scientists are brought into these areas to examine the 
  technology, with the aim of comprehending the principles of 
  how things work and the method of their manufacture.
  A TL17 antimatter generator is installed at the other end of 
  the comet, however the research scientists are forbidden to 
  reactivate the technological wonder. The admiral in command 
  of the base recalling the historical account of what happened to 
  the experimental antimatter power station once located on Mire.
  494-908
  Ostensibly to most Darrians, 494-908 is a barren, desolate 
  world circling an ancient red dwarf, repeatedly blasted by fission 
  weapons during naval exercises. However 494-908 is a literal 
  onion of overlapping secrets guarding the most valuable secret 
  in Confederation space.
  494-908 is a red zone, although navigational charts contain no 
  explanation as to why this is. Lacking a gas giant, few would 
  bother to visit the system but those who possess too much 
  curiosity will eventually encounter naval pickets guarding it. 
  These normally cruise out to the deeper parts of the system, 
  
  69
  engaging in tactical exercises. Occasionally however, ships can 
  be seen conducting orbital bombardment.
  Visitors requiring refuelling or repair will be politely conducted 
  to tenders, who will happily help guests. Landing on planet, 
  however, is expressly forbidden. Ships foolish enough to do so 
  are left for an hour to teach curious idiots a lesson before a 
  squad of Battle Dress marines attempt to rescue them.
  Investigations of 494-908 are difficult to say the least. Many 
  deceptions guard its purpose.
  The first lie is that 494-908 is barren.
  On the surface of the world is a virulent life form of frightening 
  lethality. Although capable of grazing the thin grasses and 
  lichen that subsist in the rocky terrain, the creature undergoes 
  a psychological and physical change when detecting a species 
  alien to its own. It travels in small packs and has an unusually 
  sensitive sense of smell, able to detect blood or food from 
  kilometres away.
  Its base form is a wallowing hippo-like creature with a humorous 
  appearance and a rasping tongue, which plucks up vegetation. 
  Scenting foreign biology, the body develops a number of splits 
  and tears that allow its limbs to double in length, the skin 
  gruesomely pulling back to exposing its true killing physiology. 
  The change is nauseating to watch but shockingly fast. It kills 
  anything that moves, ripping them into pieces with an unhealthy 
  number of claws and teeth.
  The second lie is that the species is native to the world.
  A tiny base is located adjacent to the polar icecap, clearly visible 
  if the surface is passively scanned. Anyone who manages to 
  land nearby can enter the dilapidated facility, which is full of 
  broken equipment, ripped walls and the occasional bone, 
  identifiably Darrian. No functioning power remains but the 
  outpost was obviously a biological research base of some 
  sort. A few mouldy note books lie about, with veiled references 
  concerning a genetic engineering project.
  Visitors who stay for longer than 15 minutes draw the attention 
  on the local life forms. These approach in the herbivore hippo 
  form to catch their prey unawares. Remaining on the surface 
  for too long without breathing gear exposes trespassers to 
  radioactive dust and a mild case of radiation sickness.
  The third lie is that the Navy bombards the planet to exterminate 
  the deadly species.
  Despite the use of fission weapons on the surface, the Shredders 
  are very tolerant of high background radiation levels. Unknown 
  to naval officers who see themselves as suppressing a plague of 
  killer monsters, the real reason to bombard the planet is to disguise 
  intermittent neutrino emanations emanating within the planet.
  The truth is stranger than fiction. In reality, 494-908 is the 
  location of a series of facilities concealed deep underground, 
  cross connected by a network of subterranean tunnels. The first 
  detected neutrinos were not discovered until 1087 indicating 
  some form of high energy reaction occurring in a gradually 
  discernable sequence between each underground location.
  It took nearly eighteen years of seismic surveys and countless 
  shredder attacks before the concealed entrance tunnel was 
  discovered leading down to the subterranean complexes. A 
  shaft of triangular cross section only two metres across dropped 
  vertically for over fifty kilometres before arriving at a web of 
  horizontal tunnels which circumnavigated the planetary strata. 
  Every three hundred kilometres the triangular sectioned tunnel 
  give access to modestly sized caverns filled with compact 
  machinery thought to be powered by antimatter or some even 
  more advanced source.
  The 
  equipment 
  thus 
  far 
  has 
  proven 
  completely 
  incomprehensible. Interestingly the machines appear to 
  constantly radiate neutrinos inside the planet, but they only 
  intermittently appear at the surface. The pattern of neutrino 
  bursts has been deciphered, allowing the Confederation Navy 
  to more carefully coordinate its fusion bombing ‘practice’ and 
  hide anything of significance from unwelcome eyes. Somewhat 
  worryingly for the Navy the subterranean energy bursts have 
  grown significantly more frequent as if speeding up for a 
  specific purpose, or perhaps something is breaking down.
  Deeper shafts drop further towards the planet’s core, using 
  some form of contra-grav technology to support anything thrown 
  into them as it slowly accelerates downwards. Radar soundings 
  suggest a depth of at least two and a half thousand metres, 
  but as yet nobody has attempted to descend to the bottom, 
  as survey drones used to scout ahead are always destroyed 
  before reaching half way. 
  However, utilising a clever piece of improvisation an engineering 
  team unspooled a long piece of fibre optic cable with an omni-
  Shredders 
  Habitat
  Strength
  Dexterity
  Endurance
  Intelligence
  Instinct
  Pack
  Killer (Omnivore)
  Any
  21
  13
  16
  1
  13
  5
  Skills
  Athletics (coordination) 1, Athletics (endurance) 1, Melee 1, Recon 2, Survival 0
  Attacks
  Teeth and claws (5d6), Sub-dermal plates (3), Number encountered (1d6)
  Notes
  Immediately chases or attacks on detection of prey. Bloodlust.
  
  70
  directional lens attached to the bottom. The images they 
  received back were crude, but have led to intense speculation...
  the Crystal Coffin
  At the bottom of the shaft is a spherical chamber a kilometre in 
  diameter. Floating in the precise centre is a strange crystal box 
  approximately 1.5 metres long and 0.5 metre wide. Strangely 
  the crystal cask flickers with an inner light whenever one of 
  the mysterious machines positioned around the planet emits a 
  neutrino burst. 
  None of the naval technicians know what is going on but soon 
  after the fibre optic cable was dropped, access to the drop 
  shaft was sealed off. The Special Arm scientist who made 
  the first observation was heard to whimper something about 
  the complex being 300,000 years old and there being some 
  sort of thing inside the crystal box. The next day the entire 
  facility was evacuated and nobody has been allowed to travel 
  to the surface since. No personnel have seen the scientist 
  who appears to have vanished, although his possessions are 
  still in his assigned cabin. Curiosity about what happened to 
  him is rife.
  pandora’s Box
  The crystal box provides an opportunity to really scare the characters in any campaign. What is the box, what remains 
  inside it, and what will happen if it is opened? Some suggestions follow:
  • 
  The box is an Ancients sized portal to a pocket dimension located at the centre of Tarnils, Daryen’s sun, 
  which simultaneously connects to portals on other Darrian worlds, such as Daryen, Mire or Roget. The living 
  accommodation is sized for a creature much smaller than a human. An intriguing holographic control board lays 
  waiting for someone to tinker with it, with potentially devastating effects if a second Maghiz is accidentally triggered 
  by the curious.
  • 
  As above, except that they are within the primary star of the Narsil system and this time the controls make enough 
  sense so that a character can, if desired, deliberately trigger a gamma-ray burst and kill the planet. This time 
  however, the entire star collapses into a singularity causing a GRB so strong it wipes out the entire Spinward 
  Marches and Foreven sectors. The characters survive to bear the burden of their guilt.
  • 
  The box is a prison created by Onsorik to contain an uplifted proto-Darrian. Built to slightly odd proportions, its skull 
  demonstrates slightly more exaggerated elongation. The creature will be unable to communicate verbally, but is 
  telepathic with an Int and Psi of 18 apiece. It was an early experiment created to leapfrog thousands of years of 
  evolution, but something went wrong, turning it into a merciless and manipulative sociopath.
  • 
  As they open the lid all the strange units around the planet give off a simultaneous neutrino pulse, but the box 
  proves to be empty. However, on exiting the subterranean complex they will find themselves in an  alternate reality 
  where the original Darrians did not trigger the Maghiz. They are at TL21+ and currently fighting a war of survival 
  against the Ancients.
  • 
  The box is empty but an empathic suggestion encourages the nearest character to enter the casket. If they willingly 
  submit there is a brief surge of wellbeing and every characteristic except Social Standing is raised to maximum 
  species value. On the downside they are the host for an Ancient personality construct which has been downloaded 
  into their mind, and will slowly subsume the original psyche unless the character re-enters the coffin to purge it. 
  They have as many days as their Int characteristic before the change is permanent.
  • 
  Onsorik awakes from 300 millennia of sleep, greeting the characters warmly once he has had ten minutes to pick 
  up their language. The Ancient is as polite and beneficent as the old folktales recounted. Pleased that his ‘children’ 
  have flourished he asks to be given a tour of the Confederation, but uses portals to travel rather than crude jump 
  ships. Grateful for being rescued he tries his best to satisfy the characters every desire with comic consequences, 
  until a rival Ancient turns up and they are dragged into an interstellar war of dire potent for the galaxy. (See Secrets 
  of the Ancients.)
  
  71
  darrian equipMent
  Darrian equipment ranges from practical devices to odd high-
  tech novelties, all of which are sculpted with soft ergonomic 
  curves. Although like their Aslan co-citizens the Darrians 
  like natural materials, they do not tend to use them in the 
  manufacture of equipment, preferring functional, hard wearing 
  substances such as metals, which will last longer. 
  In fact, all Darrian equipment is built to last, partly due to the 
  severe lessons learned after the Maghiz and partly to conserve 
  natural resources. Most devices are sold with a several decade 
  guarantee. Equipment that breaks down is returned to the 
  manufacturer for refurbishment, or, if replacement parts are no 
  longer available, a partially subsidised upgrade.
  This cultural bias has a significant effect on Darrian economics. 
  The base cost of any device is extremely high in comparison 
  to equivalent items purchased in the Imperium, with further 
  income generated from regular servicing and repairs. However, 
  the life span of said device is decades rather than the handful 
  of years for ‘just good enough’ Imperial goods and when viewed 
  over time is actually cheaper in the long run. Confederation 
  exports however, struggle to find a market in the rapid turnover, 
  materialistic markets outside of its own borders, save in the 
  province of military or high quality luxury items.
  Since most Darrian goods have been extrapolated to the 
  maximum possible utility of their Tech Level, there is little scope 
  for ‘improved’ versions or new functionality. Instead Darrians 
  venerate age in their devices. The older an operable piece of 
  equipment is, the aesthetically more valuable it becomes.
  Of course, in the rare event that a new technological step is 
  discovered, a plethora of new designs appear, taking advantage 
  from the performance increase. However, for many products 
  from automated cleaners to holovid projectors, there is little that 
  science can do to better the basic purpose.
  Two specific areas that Darrians dominate the markets are in 
  weapon manufacture and ship building, where they can produce 
  efficient and cutting edge TL15 articles, normally forbidden or 
  difficult to find inside Imperial space.
  Note: Some of the items in this chapter are listed at TL16 or 
  TL17. The majority of these are pre-Maghiz artefacts that will 
  be extremely difficult for characters to get hold of, unless they 
  manage to discover a hidden cache of equipment or a long 
  forgotten base. Such items are not available for sale but are 
  included to illustrate performance capabilities.
  darrian teChnology
  The Tech Level listed for Daryen, the scientific and educational 
  centre of the Darrian Confederation, is listed in the Imperial 
  Second Survey as TL16. Such an entry is highly unusual but 
  does not strictly represent the Darrians current manufacturing 
  capability. Whilst many technological wonders do exist on the 
  world, most are artefacts left from before the Maghiz. However, 
  Darrian science does appear to be on the cusp of recovering its 
  lost knowledge and fantastic devices now grace its markets, if 
  only ones of limited practical use.
  Whilst most of the Confederation member worlds have a lower 
  production Tech Level, lacking the necessary infrastructure 
  to fabricate their own products, most are supplied with TL13 
  goods manufactured and exported from Jacent. Since their 
  devices are designed for easy maintenance, most repairs are 
  simple exchanges of modular components, permitting problems 
  to be fixed even on the low tech worlds.
  Higher Tech Level equipment is manufactured on Daryen, 
  a favourite destination for wealthy customers who can afford 
  to pay for top class items. Weapons, sensor systems, and 
  fusion plants produced are all cutting edge, equivalent to the 
  best available in the Imperium, causing many to wonder what 
  restricted miracles are available to the Darrian military and 
  government organisations.
  The manufacturing output of Daryen is limited however, which 
  has opened a window of opportunity for TL14 and TL15 
  goods imported from the Imperium. Despite cheaper prices, 
  the ‘disposable’ design concept behind Imperial equipment is 
  not particularly popular, but the shear diversity of choice and 
  functionality encourages reluctant purchasers to make do.
  An interesting quirk with all Darrian electrical devices is that they 
  are hardened against electromagnetic pulses. Delicate circuits 
  are shielded and possess cut-offs that can be manually reset. 
  This racial paranoia even extends down to depilatory devices 
  and wrist worn timepieces!
  Communication Technology TL14
  At their pinnacle, the Darrians had mastered Meson Theory, 
  implementing a personal communication network using the 
  technology. Meson beams were also a vital part of long range 
  military comm links but they did not apply them for use as 
  weaponry. Even the Abh and Udh Projects were heavily reliant 
  on meson beams for data transmission and telemetry.
  
  72
  Using existing artefacts, the Darrians have managed to regain 
  their meson science but have not implemented it down to the 
  personal scale. Rather it is used for wireless data backups to 
  deep crust archive systems, covert cross-system transmissions 
  and following suggestions by the Imperium, for subsurface 
  planetary defence cannons.
  Planet based, personal holographic communications rely on 
  microwave networks, using proprietary systems developed 
  by Zloril, the Confederation’s communications monopoly. All 
  exchanges are terrestrial based, interconnected using deep 
  subsurface fibre-optic cabling, or, where this is impractical, 
  meson relays instead. Darrians no longer use telecommunication 
  satellites due to their vulnerability to stellar emanations and 
  enemy targeting. Personal communicators can establish direct 
  calls with low orbit (up to 500 kilometres) but consume a lot of 
  power doing so, being designed for optimal ranges of less than 
  a tenth of that.
  As part of their service, Zloril offers a virtual reality screening 
  service called StandIn. Subscribers are scanned and profiled to 
  ascertain their personality, which is then used by the message 
  service computers to generate a simulacrum of the customer. 
  When receiving calls not cleared for direct access, the computer 
  simulation takes the place of the customer and interacts with the 
  caller instead. How calls are dealt with is up to the preferences 
  selected by the subscriber. These can range from polite refusals, 
  procrastination, cheerful chit chat and so on. The pseudo reality 
  program can be linked in with the customer’s personal diary, 
  a reference database of personal and call history, or even 
  incorporate the latest jokes in a conversation. 
  StandIn is now so advanced in the use of casual conversation, 
  that unless the caller specifically questions the simulacrum 
  about a personal detail not present in the caller database, it is 
  almost impossible to determine whether it is the real subscriber 
  or not. Even then, the VR holographic projection can waffle 
  or sidestep the question briefly, so that the computer system 
  can make a direct call to the subscriber for an answer, or even 
  seamlessly patch them into the existing conversation. 
  Part of Zloril’s responsibilities as a telecom infrastructure 
  monopoly is the requirement that emergency calls from 
  government organisations are always routed directly to personal 
  communicators, overriding any standby or sleep function. These 
  are used as part of public safety practices or early warning 
  systems for planets near the Sword Worlds border.
  Computers and Robot Technology TL14
  As with their other devices, Darrian computers have been 
  significantly over-engineered to resist electromagnetic pulses. 
  Abandoning conductive circuitry completely, Darrians have 
  mastered optical computing, utilising three dimensional crystals 
  etched at the nanometre scale to provide photonic pathways 
  and logic gates. Whilst the crystal processors are extremely 
  rugged and impervious to most EM radiation damage, the 
  micro laser projectors used to operate them are not, hence all 
  systems have dual redundancy with the usual faraday shields 
  and physical cut-offs.
  Memory devices are likewise based on crystal lattice 
  technology, using exotic materials that can be physically altered 
  at the atomic level by specific laser frequencies, to permanently 
  store information in their structure. Similar levels of paranoia 
  extend to data storage, with most systems backing up records 
  in duplicate, each in a different storage crystal. Government 
  and university computer systems use specially designed 
  meson relays to simultaneously backup their data in deep crust 
  storage vaults, located several dozen kilometres under the 
  surface. Most planetary data networks are old fashioned but 
  reliable subterranean fibre optics, with deeper secondary nets 
  for emergencies.
  Although Darrian computers are the most rugged devices in the 
  Spinward Marches, they are based on a technology completely 
  incompatible with Imperial electronics, use an operating system 
  hardcoded into the crystal and require proprietary software 
  difficult to find outside the Confederation. They do incorporate 
  wireless connectivity however, allowing non-Darrian customers 
  some degree of network access outside of the Confederation 
  and supply basic data protocol translation programs free of 
  charge.
  Whilst 
  Darrians 
  utilise 
  robots 
  for 
  manufacturing 
  and 
  infrastructure maintenance, they possess forms dedicated to 
  their specific function and are rarely self mobile, a hard lesson 
  learned from those worlds only partially affected by the Maghiz, 
  when many damaged robots ran amok. No humanoid robots 
  exist in the Confederation, being considered an inefficient 
  design. Heavy machinery such as mining or farming machines 
  are never allowed to be autonomous robots. Combat robots are 
  likewise banned, due to the ease with which targeting protocols 
  can be confused, or the risk of the robot being sequestered.
  Energy Technology TL15
  Early accidents with nuclear fission encouraged the Darrians to 
  quickly leapfrog to cleaner, non-polluting fusion energy. Constant 
  refinements allowed energy yields to grow, inadvertently 
  spawning generations of wasteful, power hogging devices.
  At their height, the Darrians finally cracked the problem of 
  economically feasible antimatter production and built several 
  variant generating stations, capable of powering a city or 
  providing fuel for starships. Of the two known experimental 
  antimatter stations built, the one located in orbit around Tarnis 
  was annihilated during the Maghiz and the other, a ground 
  
  73
  based plant on Mire powered by immense orbital mirror arrays, 
  exploded when it was reactivated after being shut down for 
  ‘Pulse Day’.
  Fortunately for the post-Maghiz Darrians, most of their colonies 
  had been equipped by one or more fusion plants. Although 
  many eventually wore out, their micro circuitry eroded by the 
  high energy fields they controlled, each retained full technical 
  manuals with which they could be recreated once delicate 
  components could be manufactured once again. In the interim, 
  older, simpler solutions were utilised to produce electricity – such 
  as hydroelectric dams, concentrated solar power, geothermal 
  taps and even windmills! 
  Centuries of electrical power shortages, resulted in a new wave 
  of energy efficient devices to replace previously power hungry 
  designs. Even today the average Darrian home requires little 
  more than a battery of high energy capacitors connected to 
  solar panel roofs.
  The Confederation now uses fusion to run everything from 
  industrial factories to small gravitic vehicles. Power distribution 
  is localised, removing the need for wasteful planetary grids. 
  Consequently, Darrians boast the smallest fusion generators 
  available on the market.
  Environmental Technology TL14
  Each member world of the Confederation has different 
  environmental laws depending on the primary industries, native 
  ecosystem and any ongoing pre-Maghiz terraforming. They 
  are all supervised by the local planetary government, which 
  generally tries to prevent undue environmental damage.
  To aid in the preservation of Darrian compatible worlds, an 
  innovative new trend of subterranean construction pioneered 
  on Mire has grown in popularity, preventing surface sprawl 
  and allowing native wildlife to unwittingly range into the heart 
  of metropolises. As described earlier, energy production is 
  localised clean fusion in urban areas or renewable energy in 
  low population rural regions. On Daryen, for example, transport 
  infrastructure is limited to high speed underground maglev 
  tubes, or landing pads for atmospheric gravitic vehicles.
  Most heavy industry or mining is limited to borderline hospitable 
  planets or orbital facilities, where minor environmental damage 
  has no effect. The TL14 rating reflects the current loss of their 
  terraforming knowledge.
  Medical Technology TL14
  Although much of the ecology of Daryen was subtly alien to 
  human biology, initially preserving them from sickness and 
  disease, as the Darrians gradually adapted to their world, so 
  did the bacterium they carried with them. After thousands of 
  years, new types of disease evolved to take advantage of the 
  environmental niche.
  Before the ltzin colonists’ arrival, the Darrians had developed 
  several theories concerning clinical pathology and understood 
  that sanitation and isolation were effective preventative actions 
  against epidemics. Countless generations of experimental 
  pharmacology had identified the medical effects of most of 
  the native flora and fauna. Ready access to a vast amount of 
  biological information kick-started the Life Sciences, leading to 
  rapid development of vaccines and regenerative techniques.
  Faced with the Pandora’s Box of genetic engineering, the 
  Darrians avoided manipulation of their own genome – instead 
  using the methods to alter the helpful pharmaceuticals already 
  present in much of the native flora, the gifts of Onsorik having 
  slowly lost their potency with an evolutionary drift of several 
  hundred millennia. Fortunately, most of these re-engineered 
  species survived the Maghiz, in small medical arboretums set 
  up on each colony.
  Botanically creating and delivering pharmaceuticals ensures 
  that medicines are fresh and prevents many problems with 
  toxic manufacturing processes. The downside is that Darrian 
  pharmacologists are often overwhelmed by the arrival of 
  unheard-of diseases, several times in their recent history 
  suffering serious pandemics and being forced to enact 
  planetary isolation until the right herbs could be rushed from the 
  Confederation Council’s Department of Alien Infections. Most 
  diseases however, are inoculated against at birth and Darrian 
  epidemiologists constantly scour Imperium records for unusual 
  plagues for which tailored plants may need to be grown.
  The Darrians have recovered the majority of their medical 
  knowledge. Equipment to clone new organs and new variants 
  of medicinal herbs are supplied to hospitals across the Darrian 
  worlds, funded by the Confederation government. 
  Sensor Technology TL16
  Of all its technologies Darrian sensors are closest to being 
  considered TL16, driven in part by its highly developed 
  astronomical sciences. The Confederation maintains large scale 
  sensor arrays around the jump limit of each world, ostensibly for 
  stellar observation. However, the same devices are also utilised 
  by the military to observe surveillance ships, which may covertly 
  jump into the outer system. The Darrian Navy never responds 
  to such incursions, preferring to keep their capability secret and 
  creating misleading military movements when they know they 
  are being observed.
  Since the end of the Fourth Frontier War, the Confederation has 
  also established deep space networks embedded in hundreds 
  of asteroids and comets. These pose as navigational beacons, 
  
  74
  to prevent collisions but incorporate very sensitive mass 
  detectors, which communicate using shielded meson comms. 
  The network requires massive computational processing to 
  detect unusual perturbations in the vast number of orbital 
  bodies of a solar system but is technically sensitive enough to 
  detect vessels hiding within Black Globes.
  Transportation Technology TL15
  As indicated in the previous section, the majority of Darrian 
  worlds rely on subterranean trains or gravitic vehicles for 
  transport. Trains are mainly used for cargo transfer, whilst grav 
  vehicles are preferred as personal conveyance. Learning from 
  the tragedy of the Maghiz, all gravitic vehicles are designed as 
  lifting bodies, or have integral wings – so that in the event of 
  drive failure, the vehicle can glide back to a landing.
  Sailing ships are still used but mainly as recreation, since 
  large surface transports are considered un-aesthetic and 
  potential ecological disasters. Submarine technology is fairly 
  advanced, due to the number of undersea cities throughout 
  the Confederation. Submersibles are preferred to sub-oceanic 
  tunnels due to the risk of flooding from seismic activity.
  Darrian spaceship technology is probably the most advanced 
  in the Spinward Marches. The Daryen and Mire shipyards are 
  capable of manufacturing TL15 vessels with jump-6 capability. 
  Jacent produces most of the Confederation’s civilian vessels 
  with its more modest TL13 shipyards. Other worlds have repair 
  facilities but require prefabricated parts shipped from Daryen. 
  Due to the compact nature of Confederation space, most 
  civilian vessels require jump-3 or less.
   
  Darrian freely trades civilian ship designs with megacorporations 
  and foreign governments, ergonomic naval architecture being 
  a major source of income. Some advanced military designs 
  have been traded with the Imperium in exchange for unarmed 
  prototype cruiser and escort vessels too large for the local 
  shipyards to produce. The apparent one sided nature of the 
  deal is worrying to Zhodani security agencies, since it either 
  indicates major covert funding of the Darrian war machine in 
  preparation of military action, or that Darrian military tech now 
  significantly exceeds the Imperium’s.
  Weapon Technology TL15
  Darrians manufacture and sell cutting edge military equipment, 
  from personal arms to armoured vehicles. It is punitively 
  expensive but battlefield reliability and endurance are valuable 
  attributes to the discerning customer. Darrian military tech also 
  has a slight edge with its hardened computers and top notch 
  microwave and tight beam laser comms.
  Many customers come to Daryen seeking exotic TL16 firepower 
  but soon find that such items either do not exist, or are 
  restricted to the Darrian military. However personal munitions 
  such as gauss rifles, battle dress and fusion guns (FGMP-14 
  and FGMP-15), normally forbidden in the Imperium are freely 
  available for sale.
  Although military grade weaponry can be purchased, it is 
  forbidden for private Darrian citizens to personally own such 
  items. Sale of military hardware is subject to strict export 
  protocols, either being shipped directly by the manufacturer to a 
  rendezvous outside the Confederation, or the activation codes 
  for each weapon being sent separately by courier, preventing 
  the weapons from being used by anyone save the legitimate 
  customer.
  CurrenCy
  The Darrian Confederacy has unified its monetary systems 
  and now operates a completely cash-free society. All financial 
  transactions are electronically logged; account records 
  accessible to the Ministry of Finance and planetary law 
  enforcement with the correct permits.
  The 
  bilateral 
  financial 
  system 
  uses 
  two 
  currencies 
  interchangeably, the Darrian Sol and the ubiquitous Imperial 
  Credit. Of the two, the Sol is the more stable, preferred for long 
  term investments.
  Data bracelets are used for credit transfers, using biometric 
  scanners to identify the wearer and validate the payment. 
  Records of the transaction are transmitted to the banking 
  system by the purchaser and the recipient. Using sequential, 
  single use security keys embedded into the data bracelet during 
  manufacture, the encryption is near impossible to crack, since 
  dismantling the hardware to access the crystal destroys the 
  biometric scanner.
  As part of on-going tensions, the exchange rate of the Darrian 
  Sol with Sword World currencies is punitively poor. To ensure 
  some degree of cross border trade continues, the Confederation 
  subsidise some companies, such as Frendi Marshikin, to freight 
  cargo between the two subsectors. Although trade deals are 
  sometimes still negotiated with Consulate planets, Zhodani 
  currency is not accepted but must be paid in raw resources 
  instead.
  arMour
  Armour is rarely seen on most Darrian worlds. Its use is generally 
  reserved for planetary militia or special armed police units. Most 
  Darrians prefer the freedom to move quickly and with stealth, 
  using natural cover rather than encumbering armour. Battlefield 
  conditions however, often leave little option since secondary 
  effects of some weapons require a sealed environment for 
  protection. Of course, the Confederation manufactures their 
  
  75
  own top notch combat armour and battle dress, rivalling the 
  Imperium’s own but incorporating slightly different tactical 
  specifications.
  Civilian armour is sometimes used for hostile environments, 
  such as vacuum mining or exoskeleton support when Darrians 
  visit worlds with uncomfortably high gravity.
  Hostile Mining Vacc Suit (TL9): Used for mining operations 
  on worlds like Terant 340 and Spume, the armoured vacc suit 
  protects its wearer from poisonous atmospheres, fragmenting 
  rock, micro meteors and radiation. It incorporates extended 
  life support for up to 36 hours, a powerful emergency beacon, 
  atmospheric tester, chemical alarm and an integral Personal 
  Automedic (see Central Supply Catalogue page 167), which 
  treats the wearer during emergencies and can administer a 
  Hibernation Drug in critical situations, extending the endurance 
  of the life support by a factor of 60. Power is provided by a 
  tiny radio thermal fission pile with a lifespan of five years. The 
  technology of the suit is kept simple for easy maintenance on 
  less developed worlds.
  Gel Suit (TL10): Primarily used for recreation such as vehicle 
  racing or contact sports, the gel suit is a skin tight body glove, 
  similar to a wetsuit. It comprises of reactive gel sandwiched 
  between two layers of ballistic cloth. Violent impacts cause 
  the gel to solidify, distributing the force of the blow across a 
  wider surface area. Although the suit permits full mobility, it 
  momentarily hardens when blocking damage, reducing the 
  wearer’s Initiative by one for each separate attack it blocks in a 
  round. Cost includes separate gloves and hood.
  Militia Armour (TL12): The munitions grade armour of the 
  Confederation, tens of thousands of sets are stockpiled in militia 
  armouries on every planet. Designed for skirmish forces on 
  planets with breathable atmospheres, the armour does not act 
  as a vacc suit but is designed to be lightweight and maintenance 
  free. Formed from a composite of plastics and synthetic silks 
  to minimise its sensor profile, every set includes Camouflage, 
  Infrared Chameleon and an integral gas/breathing mask.
  Guard Armour (TL13): Issued to the regular infantry forces of 
  Darrian worlds, this armour is designed for direct conflict but 
  is still versatile enough for guerrilla tactics. Like its Imperium 
  ‘Combat Armour’ equivalent, guard armour acts as a normal 
  vacc suit against pressure and radiation, but carries an improved 
  camouflage system, using an advanced bio-engineered 
  molecular surface, which mimics its surroundings, granting 
  the benefits of Vislight and Infrared Chameleon. Attempts to 
  detect the wearer suffer a –4 penalty in both the visible and 
  infrared spectrum. The entire suit is powered by bio-mechanical 
  motion (such as belly breathing or walking), to prevent electrical 
  signals. Although the armour is stripped of all its electronic 
  components, it remains expensive due to the unique hydraulic 
  and biochemical technologies used in its construction.
  Hostile Mining Vacc Suit – Advanced (TL14): Functions the 
  same as its less sophisticated predecessor but has a built in 
  expert system (Computer /3) and compact Densitometer to aid 
  mining operations. 
  Assault Armour (TL15): Darrian Battle Dress is more 
  refined than Imperium designs, integrating many additional 
  subsystems and replacing the hydraulic amplification servos 
  with simpler, more energy efficient and lighter, electro-
  contractive muscle tissue. Since most powered armour radiates 
  all over the electromagnetic spectrum, assault armour does not 
  attempt stealth but focuses on battlefield tech supremacy and 
  survivability. It is the battle dress dreamed of by mercenaries 
  everywhere but the price places it beyond all but government 
  Special Forces budgets. Indeed, it is so expensive that only 
  Confederation Mobile Infantry are issued with it.
  
  76
  The basic rig grants the wearer a Strength and Dexterity of 
  12, for the purpose of performing physical skills and acts as 
  NBC shielding as if it were an HEV suit. It has a hardened 
  Computer/6, with an Intelligent Interface, a suite of Expert/3 
  programs and an Intellect/3 agent that can take control if the 
  wearer is incapacitated. All the software is hardcoded into the 
  crystal memory and physically isolated from comms, save for 
  the transceiver on/off switch, to make hacking impossible. 
  Since the computer is directly linked to the musculature of the 
  suit it can perform Dexterity based skills. 
  The comms suite uses an advanced TL15 Tactical Relay 
  Network (see Central Supply Catalogue page 172), relaying 
  audio/visual, medical readings, equipment status, ammunition 
  levels and sensor information. It allows the suit wearer to 
  use the tactical skill of the commander up to a maximum 
  of Tactics/5. Comms data is scrambled, encrypted and 
  transmitted via spooled fibre optic line or tight-beam maser 
  (range 500 kilometre), with laser and radio as backup systems. 
  Communications can be shut down when necessary, to avoid 
  drawing fire from a technologically equivalent enemy.
  The sensor suite incorporates an Atmosphere Tester, NBC 
  Combination Analysis Unit, Motion Sensor, Advanced Digital 
  Camera, PRIS Binoculars, Surveillance Radar (5 kilometre 
  range) and an Improved Neural Activity Detector. It is also 
  patched into the suit’s internal Medikit.
  Core functionality includes heavy weapons stabilisation, Grav 
  Assist, Extended Life Support (72 hours), counter-measure 
  launcher (6 of Aerosol, Flare, Maser Decoy or Smoke), grenade 
  launcher (6 of Concussion, Flechette, EMP, Gas or Plasma), 
  Gauss Pistols in each arm and a Sealant Sheath. 
  Module attachment points are built into the back of the suit, 
  allowing it to specialise its function. See Battle Dress Options.
  Battle Dress Options (TL15): Darrian battle dress is designed 
  to mount mission specific modules, in the form of backpack 
  units. Only one module at a time can be attached and have 
  self contained power systems. These modules uniformly weigh 
  15 kilograms (3 kilograms when supported by the armour) 
  but have slightly different shapes according to their function. 
  Each has the same amount of armour as the battle dress it is 
  designed for.
  • 
  Anti Personnel: The standard weapons unit is a VRF 
  Gauss Rifle, light support weapon (see Weapons), with 
  backpack mounted ammunition storage. Due to the mitten-
  like armour of the Darrian battle dress gloves, the gun has 
  no external firing mechanism, relying on the suit’s internal 
  finger sensors as triggers or the onboard computer to fire 
  it instead.
  • 
  Anti Armour: Heavy support is the dreaded FGMP-15 with 
  similar internal firing mechanisms as the VRF Gauss Rifle.
  • 
  Command: Command modules incorporate the Tactical 
  Relay Network hub. The transmitters and bulky battlefield 
  C&C computers take up the entire volume available.
  • 
  Electronic Warfare: Provides ECM/ECCM coverage to jam 
  or monitor enemy signals and a meson communicator, 
  capable of ranges up to 500 kilometres.
  • 
  Air Suppression: An air defence module containing multiple 
  antimissile missiles, which is tied into the suit’s sensor 
  suite for target identification and guidance. Salvos of up to 
  six missiles can be launched simultaneously, with a total 
  capacity of 30 micro missiles. The weapons are designed 
  merely to destroy or deflect in-flight ordinance, providing 
  little damage against armour or fortifications.
  exported assault arMour
  Darrian Battle Dress is the pinnacle of personal 
  protection. Widely sought after by wealthy customers, 
  its export earns a staggering amount of Imperium 
  credits. However, to protect themselves from third party 
  replication, the manufacturers have strict production 
  protocols.
  All of the suit’s electronics use Darrian’s proprietary 
  optical tech, the multiple components are etched into a 
  single crystal and sealed within a bonded superdense 
  casing. The energy required to cut or break open the 
  casing, invariably destroys the deliberately sensitive 
  nano-scale crystalline structure within. If that was not 
  thorough enough, the crystal is additionally seeded with 
  micro explosives set to discharge on detecting different 
  scanning wavelengths. Even the programming language 
  is unique, written specifically for the Battle Dress, utilising 
  an odd number base architecture and bizarre Darrian 
  mathematical logic.
  The Confederation’s own Battle Dress incorporates 
  a self destruct mechanism. The death of the user, 
  imminent power loss or recognition by the computer that 
  it is about to be captured, causes thermal demolition of 
  key parts of the suit. This does not harm the wearer 
  who, if still alive, is left with basic life support, radio 
  comms and the medikit.
  Assault Armour – Special Arm (TL16): Special Arm troops 
  have access to pre-Maghiz TL16 suits of assault armour. Similar 
  to the retro-design provided to Confederation Guard Regiments, 
  these advanced suits contain all the same functionality but 
  
  77
  include personal meson comms, psionic shielding, Computer/8 
  with a slightly better AI interface, a Neural Carbine, which 
  replaces one Gauss Pistol and life support further extended to 
  144 hours. The suits have a Strength and Dexterity of 15.
  augMents
  No augments are available within the Confederation, 
  save perhaps on Laberv. The Darrians dislike any form of 
  augmentation or genetic modifications, seeing them as a 
  crutch for those lacking the discipline to master intellectual or 
  physical skills. Prosthetics are also frowned upon, especially 
  since replacement parts can be easily cloned and are available 
  without cost to taxpaying citizens.
  From their cultural perspective, other than a laziness to learn, the 
  only reason for augmentations are either criminal or espionage 
  in nature – neither of which are well regarded by Darrians.
  CoMMuniCations and CoMputing
  In addition to standard comms equipment, the Darrians at TL 
  14 retro-engineer their existing artefacts and portable meson 
  communication equipment becomes viable. The following table 
  shows the smallest capable transceivers available at that Tech 
  Level. Increasing the mass will increase range. Doubling the 
  mass squares the range, tripling cubes it and so forth.
  Meson 
  Transceivers
  Mass 
  (Kg)
  Range
  Cost (Cr.)
  TL 14
  100
  Distant (50 km)
  100,000
  TL 15
  10
  Regional (500 
  km)
  1,000,000
  TL 16
  1
  Continental 
  (5,000 km)
  Not Available
  Darrian computer systems are equivalent to Imperial devices, 
  save that they are slightly more compact at higher Tech Levels 
  and hardened against EMP.
  Optimum TL
  Computer 
  Power
  Mass 
  (Kg)
  Cost (Cr.)
  TL 7
  Computer/0
  10
  50
  TL 8
  Computer/1
  5
  100
  TL 9
  Computer/1
  5
  200
  TL 10
  Computer/2
  1
  500
  TL 11
  Computer/2
  1
  1,000
  TL 12
  Computer/3
  0.5
  2,000
  TL 13
  Computer/4
  0.5
  5,000
  TL 14
  Computer/5
  0.1
  10,000
  TL 15
  Computer/6
  0.1
  20,000
  TL 16
  Computer/8
  0.05
  Not Available
  MediCal and survival gear
  The majority of Darrian drugs are grown directly from small herbs 
  and bushes. A few plants containing mild pain killers or antacids 
  are freely available for purchase, with detailed consumption 
  guidelines. More dangerous drugs are more strictly controlled, 
  requiring specialised soil additives, specific light wavelengths or 
  for the plant to be tailored to the generics of a specific patient. 
  Darrian apothecaries usually comprise of a small arboretum 
  tended by botanical pharmacologists. 
  Medicines are sold in a variety of forms:
  Leaves, applied to an area to naturally dissolve into the skin.
  Leaves or fruits, to be chewed or consumed raw.
  Bark or roots, which must first be ‘activated’ by infusing as a hot 
  beverage.
  Salves, produced from sap mixed with a neutral base of correct 
  viscosity.
  Intravenous serum, rendered from sap or infusions.
  All medicines in the Traveller Core Rulebook and Central 
  Supply Catalogue up to TL 14 are available in Darrian space 
  at the listed price. Unless specifically loaded into a device for 
  automated delivery, all medical supplies come in the form of 
  plant material. Anagathics are not available off the shelf but 
  must be specially imported.
  Armour Type
  Protection
  Required
  Cost (Cr.)
  Mass (kg)
  Hostile Mining Vacc Suit (TL9)
  7
  Vacc Suit 2
  35,000 
  25
  Gel Suit (TL10)
  6
  None
  30,000 
  3
  Militia Armour (TL12)
  12
  None
  25,000 
  2
  Guard Armour (TL14)
  16
  Vacc Suit 0
  800,000 
  6
  Hostile Mining Vacc Suit – Advanced (TL15)
  15
  Vacc Suit 1
  75,000 
  20
  Assault Armour (TL15)
  20
  Battle Dress 2
  5,000,000 
  35 (7)
  Assault Armour – Special Arm (TL16)
  24
  Battle Dress 1
  Not Available
  30 (6)
  
  78
  Darrians use a number of ostensibly medical devices to enable 
  them to survive on worlds outside of the Confederation.
  Pressure Respirator (TL8): A respirator that allows the wearer 
  to breathe on worlds with atmospheric pressures higher than 
  their own. Most models come as full face masks connected to 
  a large belt mounted pump, which lowers the internal pressure 
  and makes any gas mixture changes required to keep the 
  wearer comfortable. At TL9 the mask is decreased to cover just 
  the nose and mouth, with the pumping device minimised to the 
  size of a deck of cards. At TL11 the micro pumps and exhausts 
  can be woven into a fine mesh net, either incorporated subtly 
  into clothing or worn next to the skull; the air flow used to waft 
  the wearers hair in interesting patterns.
  Exoskeleton (TL10): These ubiquitous devices are normally 
  used by Darrians travelling to planets with a Size of two or more 
  steps above that of their homeworld, until their physiology can 
  adapt. The exoskeleton supports their fragile bone structure 
  against the rigours of higher gravity, providing additional strength 
  to pick up everyday objects of increased weight. Powered by 
  synthetic electro-contracting muscles, the exoskeleton has 
  a Strength of 9, which supplants the wearer’s characteristic. 
  It also incorporates an integral medikit and communicator 
  mounted on the thigh braces to monitor and treat the wearer if 
  they start to suffer circulatory difficulties; or dial for emergency 
  aid in the event of serious injury.
  Lizard Juice (TL16): Only a few intact ampoules of Lizard 
  Juice have been discovered in pre-Maghiz Darrian research 
  bases and were rapidly confiscated by the Confederation for 
  analysis. Consumed by an injured victim, the silvery liquid 
  heals all damage at the rate of 1+Endurance DM per hour. 
  Moreover, the elixir remains in the patient’s body, continuing to 
  heal wounds for years after being taken. It can even regenerate 
  missing (non-vital) body parts at a rate of around one kilogram 
  of flesh per day. Such wondrous effects come at a significant 
  cost. The nutritional requirements of the imbiber skyrocket when 
  injured, inflicting them with an unceasing hunger. Amputations 
  are particularly dangerous, since the patient generally enters a 
  coma and can potentially starve to death during the re-growing 
  process as their body is cannibalised for energy and building 
  material. Any ampoule of Lizard Juice is effectively priceless but 
  brings the attention of the authorities upon anyone rumoured to 
  possess, or worse still, have consumed it.
  roBots and drones
  Few autonomous robots are present in Darrian space. Not only 
  are they considered a potential risk without a true self-aware 
  AI to control them but Darrians have an ethos that celebrates 
  physical labour as part of keeping a healthy mind. Thus, except 
  for mass production, few robots are employed as workers.
  Sensor Drone (TL12): A floating platform, which can hold a 
  range of sensor equipment and is lightly armoured to survive 
  hostile environments. It is normally operated as a remote drone 
  but can be ordered to follow specific mission profiles or flight 
  plans. More advanced versions with an increased computer 
  and better software can be specially ordered.
  Strength 1 (–3), Dexterity 7 (0), Hull 1, Structure 1
  Traits: Armour 8, Computer/3 running Intellect/1, Expert Pilot/1 
  and Expert Recon/1, Integral grav floater, Integral sensor 
  compartment
  Price: Cr. 110,000 Sensors must be purchased separately.
  Weapons
  Darrians can manufacture most weapons available in the 
  Imperium. The common equipment used by Confederation 
  forces and a few pre-Maghiz wonders are described here. 
  Primitive Weapons
  Due to their more fragile build, Darrians in general avoid hand-
  to-hand fighting. They do practice unarmed combat mainly 
  for self discipline but lack a melee weapon ethos. In military 
  situations where stealth is paramount, the Darrian military are 
  often trained with the knife to kill quietly from ambush.
  Primitive tech missile weapons, such as bows or slings, are 
  favoured by militia forces for their inability to be detected by 
  sensor systems. Their low speed projectiles are quiet and 
  can often bypass motion detectors set to ignore rapid moving 
  animals or insects.
  Projectile Weapons
  Gauss Rifle (TL12): The Darrian Gauss Rifle is the standard 
  weapon of both Confederation militia and guard units. Using an 
  EM field to accelerate small 4 millimetre needles to hypersonic 
  speeds, these accurate weapons are designed for long range 
  engagements, preferably ambushes, and are deadly. Darrian 
  gauss weapons are inherently armour piercing and ignore a 
  number of points of armour equal to the number of dice they 
  roll for damage. If used with DSAP (Discarding Sabot Armour 
  Piercing) ammunition, the Armour Points bypassed are doubled. 
  The rifle has single shot, burst and fully automatic firing modes. 
  It comes with integral single shot Grenade Launcher, Toughened 
  Telescopic Sights and a Pulse Suppressor (rather than reducing 
  sound levels it dampens the electromagnetic signature of the 
  shot, giving a –4 DM on attempts to locate it with sensors).
  Gauss Pistol (TL13): An officer’s side arm, the gauss pistol 
  works in the same way as the Darrian gauss rifle and uses the 
  same 4 millimetre ordinance, save that it cannot use DSAP 
  ammunition. Modified versions of the pistol are built into the 
  forearms of Confederation Assault Armour.
  
  79
  Gauss Sniper Rifle (TL13): Designed for stealth and one shot 
  kills from extended range, the gauss sniper rifle is the preferred 
  weapon of Darrian guerrilla tactics. Using an extended barrel 
  and oversized 8 millimetre needles, the weapon has an unusual 
  accuracy, gaining a +1 DM whenever taking an Aim action. The 
  rifle mounts twin sighting systems; an unpowered telescopic 
  sight and a passive multispectral sight, which incorporates an 
  integral wind and gravity compensator (+1 DM, no penalties for 
  lighting or non solid cover), used when electromagnetic security 
  is not needed. The strength of the weapon is its combined 
  sound and EM suppressor (–4 DM to locate), making placement 
  of the shooter very difficult. The sniper rifle lacks any burst or 
  auto-fire function.
  VRF Gauss Rifle (TL14): A light support weapon designed for 
  an antipersonnel roll, VRF gauss rifles are normally mounted 
  on vehicles or equipped as the primary armament of Darrian 
  battle dress troops. The Confederation version is designed to 
  conserve its 8 millimetre ammunition, preventing the release of 
  more than 30 needles a round when used in auto-fire mode.
  Energy Weapons
  The following guns are unavailable outside of the Special Arm, 
  the majority of them being pre-Maghiz artefacts.
  Maser Pistol (TL16): Using a coherent microwave laser, this 
  weapon literally boils its target from the inside. The penetrating 
  wavelength of the maser passes through smoke, fog, rain and 
  most non metallic substances less than a few centimetres thick. 
  Unless formed from solid metal, the beam halves the protective 
  value of physical armour. If the target possesses any cybernetic 
  augments of TL13 or lower, penetrating damage is doubled 
  as the maser heats up the devices causing them to melt and 
  spark internally. Masers are recoilless, silent and invisible in the 
  visible spectrum, making them difficult to detect without specific 
  sensors. Their one drawback is the high energy requirement, 
  restricting the number of shots per power-pack magazine.
  Maser Rifle (TL16): As the Maser Pistol but capable of firing 
  longer ranges. 
  FGMP-16 (TL16): Before the Maghiz, the Darrians never 
  developed the man portable fusion gun, because of the 
  dangers posed by secondary radiation. The FGMP-16 is in fact 
  an extrapolation of Imperium tech analysed by the scientists of 
  the Special Arm. Difficulties in power storage and overheating 
  have been overcome using more advanced fusion technology, 
  allowing the gun to fire as a fully automatic weapon every round. 
  The Darrian version does not include a gravitic compensator, 
  projeCtile Weapons
  Weapon
  TL
  Range
  Damage
  Auto
  Recoil
  Mass (kg) Magazine
  Cost (Cr.)
  Ammo Cost 
  (Cr.)
  Gauss Rifle
  12
  Rifle
  4d6 AP
  4
  0
  3
  100
  2,500
  100
  Gauss Pistol 13
  Pistol
  3d6+2 AP
  4
  0
  1
  50
  1,000
  50
  Gauss 
  Sniper Rifle
  13
  Rifle
  5d6+2 AP
  None
  0
  8
  20
  20,000
  40
  VRF Gauss 
  Rifle
  14
  Rifle
  5d6 AP
  10
  2
  30
  1,000
  60,000
  2,000
  energy Weapons
  Weapon
  TL
  Range
  Damage
  Auto
  Recoil
  Mass 
  (kg)
  Magazine
  Cost (Cr.)
  Power Pack 
  (Cr.)
  Maser Pistol
  16
  Pistol
  3d6+1
  None
  None
  3
  10
  Not Available
  Not Available
  Maser Rifle
  16
  Assault 
  Weapon
  4d6+2
  None
  None
  10
  15
  Not Available
  Not Available
  FGMP-16
  16
  Rifle
  16d6
  5
  0
  15
  30
  Not Available
  Not Available
  Neural Rifle
  17
  Rifle
  Telepathic 
  Assault
  None
  None
  2
  25
  Not Available
  Not Available
  
  80
  requiring TL16 battle dress to support it. Only one regiment has 
  been equipped with these frightening weapons and it still awaits 
  deployment.
  Neural Rifle (TL17): A weapon that incapacitates enemies by 
  duplicating a Telepathic Assault (see Traveller Core Rules page 
  154). Armour is no defence and only artificial psionic screens 
  (or the Telepathic Shield talent) block its effect. The weapon 
  projects no visible beam or sound, making it near impossible to 
  detect an attack. Only a few dozen of these rifles exist, issued to 
  Special Arm elite forces on a mission-by-mission basis.
  vehiCles
  Before the Maghiz, most Darrian transport was via Grav Vehicle. 
  After the disaster, cruder forms of transport were briefly utilised 
  but with their recovery Darrians once again embraced gravitics, 
  this time incorporating wings or lifting surfaces to provide glide 
  capability in case of failure.
  Ground vehicles are nearly unheard of, there being little or no 
  surface infrastructure for them to run on. A few exceptions exist 
  but are mainly recreational vehicles.
  MonoCyCle
  An odd looking form of transport, Darrian monocycles look 
  like circular disks standing on their edge, about two and a half 
  metres in diameter with a central faring bubble where the driver 
  sits. The outer edge is a tire about 30 centimetres wide, formed 
  from dozens of compartmentalised sections and rotated by 
  hidden drive wheels mounted around the circumference. The 
  monocycle maintains upright stability with gyroscopes, which 
  also allow it to lean into tight corners. Designed as an off road 
  vehicle, the size of the wheel combined with a suspension 
  system (which reactively increases or lowers the pressure of 
  each tire segment), grants a smooth ride except over the most 
  rugged terrain.
  Monocycle (Cr. 4,650)
  TL: 9
  Drive Type: Single Wheeled
  Configuration: Cycle 3m3
  Construction: Light Alloys
  Qualities: Rugged
  Agility: +4
  Speed: Cruising 225kph, Top 300kph, Off Road 65kph
  Fuel: 50 hours (Fuel Cell)
  Armour: 2
  Hull: 1
  Structure: 1
  Crew: 1
  Passengers: 0
  Cargo: 0.5 dTon
  Weapons: None
  Equipment: Basic Sensors (Compact), Gyroscopes
  grav Bikes 
  The ubiquitous personal transport on Darrian worlds, grav bikes 
  are fast and manoeuvrable. Fairings dynamically reshape to 
  control aerodynamic flow and act as spoilers for slowing or 
  rapid changes of direction. If a power failure occurs, the fairings 
  return to a default wing configuration, allowing the bike to glide 
  to the ground. Ejector seats are included for circumstances 
  where no safe landing spot can be found. Grav Bikes include 
  life support for high altitude flying and are capable of reaching 
  orbit. Military versions of Grav Bikes are slightly bigger, built 
  around a chassis mounted Advanced Light AutocannonVRF 
  Gauss Rifle. 
  Grav Bike – Civilian (Cr. 205,000)
  TL: 11
  Drive Type: Grav
  Configuration: Cycle 6m3
  Construction: Advanced Composites
  Qualities: Lightweight, Sealed
  Agility: +3
  Speed: Cruise 1,092kph, Top 1,456kph
  Fuel: 50 hours
  Armour: 4
  Hull: 1
  Structure: 1
  Crew: 1
  Passengers: 1
  Cargo: 1 dTon
  Weapons: None
  Equipment: 500km Laser/Radio Comm, Airflow Devices, Basic 
  Life Support, Ejector Seats, Comprehensive Sensors (Compact, 
  Long and Hardened), Improved Controls
  Grav Bike – Military (Cr. 740,000)
  TL: 15
  Drive Type: Grav
  Configuration: Cycle 10m3
  Construction: Crystaliron
  Qualities: Sealed, Stealth Coating
  Agility: +4
  Speed: Cruise 1,590kph, Top 2,120kph
  Fuel: 20 hours
  Armour: 18
  Hull: 2
  Structure: 2
  Crew: 1
  Passengers: 0
  Cargo: None
  Weapons: PGMP-14 (12d6, +6 Auto)
  
  81
  Equipment: 500km Laser/Radio Comm, Airflow Devices, Basic 
  Life Support, Chaff, Ejector Seat, Excellent Sensors (Compact, 
  Hardened), Improved Controls, Precision Drive
  sphere tanks
  An unusual design, most Confederation tanks use a spherical 
  configuration six metres across, granting them a reasonably 
  effective deflection surface from all directions. They conform to 
  the  Darrian military philosophy of stealth, speed and agility, over 
  brute power. Gauss guns are preferred over plasma or fusion 
  weapons due to their reduced EM signal and avoidance of 
  secondary radiation and fire damage to the environment. Each 
  sphere is horizontally segmented into three compartments, 
  which can rotate independently of one another. The smaller top 
  and bottom segments contain sensors, antipersonnel and air 
  defence weaponry; whilst the middle compartment holds the 
  crew, drive, power plant and main cannon. Crew comprises of 
  Driver, Gunner and the Comms/Sensor Officer who commands 
  the tank. All crew are trained as engineer/mechanics on their 
  own specific equipment.
  Sphere Tank (MCr. 12)
  TL: 13
  Drive Type: Grav
  Configuration: Sloped Sphere 100m3
  Construction: Superdense
  Qualities: Rugged, Sealed, Stealth Coating
  Agility: +3
  Speed: Cruise 435kph, Top 580kph 
  Fuel: 105 hours
  Armour: 85
  Hull: 55
  Structure: 60
  Crew: 3
  Passengers: 0
  Cargo: None
  Weapons: Main Armament – 12mm Light Gauss Cannon (10d6 
  Mega AP damage, 60 attacks), Secondary Armament – 2 x VRF 
  Gauss Guns (5d6 AP damage, 110 attacks each)
  Equipment: 50km Radio/Maser/Laser Comm, Basic Life 
  Support, Improved Controls, Excellent Sensors (Compact, 
  Hardened), Multispectral Smoke Decoys, Precision Drive
  The TL13 version is standard equipment for armoured divisions 
  of planetary militia, designed for rapid deployment or retreat 
  and extended battlefield endurance.
  Sphere Tank – Advanced (MCr. 38)
  TL: 15
  Drive Type: Grav
  Configuration: Sloped Sphere 100m3
  Construction: Bonded Superdense
  Qualities: Rugged, Sealed, Stealth Coating
  Agility: +3
  Speed: Cruise 275kph, Top 370kph 
  Fuel: 110 hours
  Armour: 150
  Hull: 82
  Structure: 90
  Crew: 3
  Passengers: 0
  Cargo: None
  Weapons: Main Armament – 16mm Hyper Velocity Gauss 
  Cannon (18d6 Ultimate AP damage, 35 attacks), Secondary 
  Armament – 2 x VRF Gauss Guns (5d6 AP damage, 110 
  attacks each)
  Equipment: 100km Meson Comm, Basic Life Support, 
  Improved Controls, Excellent Sensors (Compact, Hardened), 
  Multispectral Smoke Decoys, Precision Drive
  Using a similar hull configuration, the TL15 version uses meson 
  comms, improved armour and an upgraded main weapon. The 
  tank is used by armoured units of the Confederation Guard.
  oddities
  The following are a few weird and wonderful hi-tech Darrian 
  items that occasionally surface in junk shops bordering the 
  Confederation, or are found in long forgotten science bases, 
  abandoned after the Maghiz. Many of the devices may lack 
  power and must be tinkered with by someone with Mechanics-2 
  or Engineering (Electroincs)-1 to discover the correct access 
  panel. After which it is simple to jury rig a direct power feed or 
  recharge the integral batteries.
  Temperature Chime: A long tubular metal chime, which has 
  barely discernable Zlodh glyphs etched on its worn, scratched 
  surface. When struck, the chime resonates with a pure tone. 
  However, the note given off by the chime alters with its 
  temperature – the colder it is, the deeper the note.
  Advanced Rope: 30 metres of rope woven from electro-
  contractive synthetics. If anchored at one end and tugged 
  sharply, the rope contracts to one tenth of its original length. 
  If shaken from side-to-side, the fibres go flaccid, recovering its 
  original length. Additionally, the colour of rope changes with 
  increased load, starting at a default light blue and progressing 
  through the spectrum until it reaches crimson at 250 kilograms 
  in 1g. Adding more mass causes the priceless rope to tear apart.
  Hair Styling Comb: This beautiful comb made of tortoiseshell 
  patterned crystal, has a number of decorative studs that act as 
  controls. If left in sunlight for six hours to recharge, when next 
  drawn through the users tresses, the hair is altered to take on 
  different curls and pigmentation. Randomly fiddling with the 
  settings will allow the user to create any number of fantastic 
  hair styles. The comb works for one hairdressing attempt before 
  needing to be recharged.
  
  82
  Food Processor: A spherical device about 30 centimetres in 
  diameter, the top part of the unit can be removed to insert raw 
  meats, vegetables and grains. Replacing the lid and waiting 15 
  minutes, converts the contents into a perfectly cooked meal. 
  The processor has a range of different recipes but relies on a 
  verbal interface using te-Zlodh.
  Heat Glow Gem: Crystal slices mounted on head or wrist 
  bands, which give off a pale glow when worn. The brightness 
  of the radiance depends on the temperature differential of the 
  wearer in comparison to the ambient air. Thus the crystals work 
  best in cool or cold environments.
  Gecko suit: A full body suit up to 5 millimetres thick across 
  the limbs, its sticky palm and foot areas provide traction on 
  unpolished surfaces. Designed for the lower gravity of Daryen, 
  each of the gripping areas can only support up to 25 kilograms 
  on a standard 1g world, preventing a climber from exceeding 
  75 kilograms. The suit itself partially augments the wearer’s 
  Strength, allowing them to lift their own body weight when 
  scaling a vertical surface.
  Earring Analyser: Set with a tiny gem, this small earring is 
  uniquely decorated with ancient Darrian designs. Expose to 
  sunlight for a few hours to charges the device, which analyses 
  the ambient atmosphere for pressure, gas mixture and toxic 
  substances. If it discovers anything dangerous the device 
  vibrates softly and chimes just loud enough for the wearer 
  to hear. The earring is manufactured for Darrian physiology 
  however, so it does not respond to very low air pressures or 
  high levels of ozone but will trigger incessantly when exposed 
  to atmospheres over 1 standard pressure.
  Meson Egg Cup: Looking like nothing more than an elegant 
  egg cup, this device actually heats any egg placed in it with a tiny 
  meson projector. Although it cooks raw eggs to perfection, any 
  previously boiled egg set in it is likely to explode from excessive 
  heating. The device may also have a tendency to trigger some 
  internal sensors detecting the odd energy release. As such, 
  this wonder would be priceless to any Telecommunication 
  Corporation seeking to ‘crack’ open the personal meson comms 
  tech barrier.
  Spring Boots: Conceptualised on many worlds, Darrian spring 
  boots are not particularly innovative but do incorporate many 
  refinements that make them easy to use, even for beginners. 
  When worn they look similar to kangaroo legs, their inherent 
  springiness permitting the wearer to cover up to five metres 
  with each step. If the power compartment is discovered and 
  the boots are recharged, performance increases dramatically, 
  the struts of the boots flexing themselves, freeing the user from 
  needing to input any effort into moving. A charge lasts three 
  hours and increases the distance covered to 10 metres per 
  stride.
  Animal Repeller: This device looks like a belt woven from 
  metal threads, possessing a large ornate buckle. The belt is 
  actually a combined threat analysis computer and an acoustic 
  wave projector. Using subsonic frequencies it drives off large 
  creatures able to hear the sound. Whilst this works on Daryen, 
  it may be less effective on other worlds, or conversely drive off 
  all animal life completely. Physical attacks by humanoids on the 
  wearer will be stopped by the computer, which will broadcast 
  high frequency whistling, incapacitating both the attacker and 
  belt wearer.
  Medical Underwear: Only a few pieces of intact Darrian 
  clothing survive from before the Maghiz. These special types 
  of underwear are designed to be disposable, sealed in vacuum 
  packs. They incorporate a range of reactive chemicals tailored to 
  specific biological agents, reacting to traces amounts excreted 
  in perspiration or skin cells. Detecting a high concentration of 
  arsenic for example would cause the fabric to change colour. 
  The cleverest aspect of the underwear is the distribution patterns 
  of the molecules and colour codes, which reveal precisely 
  the medical condition the wearer is suffering from. Thus a 
  specific virus may emerge as a stripy blue and green pattern, 
  whilst early onset liver failure might display as red polka dots. 
  Once understood what their purpose is, examples of medical 
  underwear are treasure troves to molecular biochemists.
  Biobog: Surviving examples of toilets on Daryen show that the 
  cities lacked sewage systems, diverting their biological waste 
  into small composting units instead. These artefact toilets are 
  uncomfortably high for normal humans to sit on but contain 
  photonic projectors of different wavelengths, which kill bacteria 
  and break down the molecular structure of the human waste 
  into safe gases and a fine sandy material formed primarily of 
  carbon. This soil is sterile and can be used as raw organic 
  material. Although the device may be viewed as an ecological 
  oddity, it actually works using a very early form of disintegration.
  Ubidrink Flask: Appearing like an aluminium thermos flask, the 
  flask is designed to be filled with water and left for five minutes. 
  When opened a second time, the water will have been converted 
  to one of a wide range of Darrian teas or carbonated soft drinks, 
  served at the perfect temperature. After several dozen uses the 
  beverage will gradually lose its flavour, since the reservoir of 
  concentrated additives will become exhausted. In the bottom of 
  the flask are twelve micro cartridges each loaded with a different 
  molecular additive. These can be replicated by a sophisticated 
  TL15 lab but the miniaturised brewing and thermodynamic 
  engineering is beyond comprehension.
  Cleaning Rod: On first glance this short rod looks completely 
  incongruous. Lacking any distinguishing features save a Zlodh 
  glyph at one end, if powered and grasped it begins radiating a 
  soft UV glow combined with a lot of trans-aural sonics. After a 
  minute, the rod stops glowing and begins to suck in air, which 
  
  83
  is expelled from a nozzle at one end. The device is actually 
  designed to launder clothes, the light and sound cleaning the 
  fabric by killing bacteria and breaking down dirt. The suction 
  then sweeps up the fine particles, collecting them inside a 
  receptacle in the handle, which must be periodically emptied.
  Neural Pillow: An offshoot of neural weaponry, this spongy 
  pillow actually contains a gentle neural projector, which sends 
  anyone resting their head against it to sleep instantly. There are 
  no after-effects but the sleep does not prevent bad dreams or 
  anxiety from disturbing the sleeper, it merely enables them to 
  drop off in the first place. Telepathic shields prevent the pillow 
  from working.
  Eternal Deodorant: A metallic rectangular object, with a 
  detachable lid covering a rounded perforated surface. Some 
  examples still have labels attached explaining the purpose of the 
  strange artefact. The device gently irradiates the skin, shutting 
  down the sweat pores and killing off the bacteria that produce bad 
  odours. An application of the deodoriser usually lasts for up to 
  one week but heavy labour or excessively humid environments 
  can shorten the duration. Some examples incorporate a 
  depilatory device at the other end, which temporarily stuns hair 
  follicles, preventing growth, whilst simultaneously burning away 
  any hairs that have extruded through the skin.
  Food Heating Plates: These elegant plates look as if they 
  are made from thin glass or crystal, decorated with swirls of 
  colour within the structure of the material. Whilst beautiful, 
  their real value comes when warm food (anything above 40 
  degrees Celsius) is placed on them. The plate raises its own 
  (upper) surface temperature to meet what was placed upon it, 
  incidentally causing the colours to begin to shift and undulate. 
  The heating cycle lasts for about 30 minutes before failing, 
  depending on the initial temperature of the food. However, the 
  plates recharge with regular exposure to sunlight.
  Grav Skates: A further refinement of gravitic technology, grav 
  skates produce a lifting force capable of supporting up to 100 
  kilograms. The reduction of ground pressure allows the wearer 
  to skate over any relatively smooth surface, such as concrete 
  pavements, sand or even placid water. They operate by sensing 
  weight distribution and which foot is leading, lifting it clear of 
  the surface, whilst the backwards passing rear foot is permitted 
  a gentle contact in order to give traction. Grav skates last for 
  several hours before needing to be recharged.
  Cleaning Cloth: This fabric uses electrostatic forces and 
  microfiber filaments to wipe up dirt particles. The material is 
  a living substance, a mono-colony of protoplasmic creatures 
  engineered by pre-Maghiz biologists. They consume the dirt 
  they collect, using it to rebuild and replicate. When the cloth 
  grows too big, it ‘births’ a new cloth and the older colony dies 
  off several days later. Ancient mutated versions may be found 
  in abandoned bases capable of supporting protoplasmic life, 
  growing out of control, slowly consuming all it covers.
  Dream Transferors: Appearing as nothing more than a pair 
  soft fabric skullcaps with recognisably archaic Darrian data 
  connectors, this device is an experimental attempt to transfer 
  memories. One cap acts as the scanner, transmitting neural 
  activity to the second cap, where it is induced into the recipient’s 
  mind. Due to the informational overload generated by alert 
  brains, the caps only work on sleeping subjects and are very 
  dangerous to use.  Each shared dream must be supervised by 
  a qualified doctor to prevent accidental seizures. 
  Black Globe Safety System: The ultimate in personal safety, a 
  black globe crash protector appears to be a cube approximately 
  45 centimetres per side and weighing about 75 kilograms, 
  normally mounted solidly between the seats inside a vehicle. 
  It remains innocuous until the vehicle sensors detect imminent 
  collision or rapid deceleration, whereupon a small black globe 
  forms about the passengers for less than a second, incidentally 
  severing a spherical volume free of the vehicle and absorbs the 
  kinetic energy of the crash. Secondary crash protection such as 
  airbags then trigger, just as the globe collapses. If the energy 
  is too great an override cuts in, dropping the globe and ejecting 
  the capacitor unit prior to explosion.
  Insect Zapper: A floating sphere less than 5 centimetres in 
  diameter, this drone floats about a chamber, using a tiny infrared 
  laser to kill pervasive or annoying bugs. It can operate for six 
  hours before recharging.
  Health Cup: Another crystalline vessel of considerable beauty, 
  this cup scans the fluids poured into it and changes colour 
  if it detects any dangerous substances. Colour gradation 
  determines the type of toxic substance present and its 
  concentration. Remaining clear indicates that the drink is safe 
  to imbibe... for a Darrian.
  Magnifying Glass: A solid sheet of transparent crystal about 
  30 centimetres square, with two metallic handles on either side 
  for carrying. A number of Zlodh glyphs are embossed on the 
  bottom edge. If recharged pressing on the glyphs in turn will:
  Activate the device.
  Magnify the view through the crystal.
  Shrink the view through the crystal.
  Change the wavelength of light being displayed.
  The magnifying glass is capable of resolving down to the 
  atomic level and can display wavelengths from microwave to 
  soft x-rays. 
  
  84
  darrian spaCeCraft
  To provide compatibility for Imperium traffic, the Confederation 
  has adopted Imperium protocols and conventions for ships 
  travelling in Darrian space. Since the Darrians use jump 
  technology inherited from Solomani settlers, the basic principles 
  of jump travel still apply to Darrian vessels.
  Ship Design
  Most Darrian vessels have a subtle Solomani design influence, 
  tending to exhibit sweeping curves and practical streamlining. 
  Internally, vessels have higher ceilings but reclaim lost conduit 
  space by hiding them behind curved mouldings where floor and 
  ceiling meet the walls. The rounded edges give ships a slightly 
  more organic feel, as well as providing perfect surfaces for 
  integral lighting units. The general feel of Darrian ships is that 
  the internal proportions are tall and narrow.
  All controls have a high ergonomic styling primarily designed for 
  Darrian physiology but can reconfigure to be usable by normal 
  proportioned humans and Aslan. Integral furniture such as 
  seats or beds is built for extra long torsos and no Solomani has 
  ever complained of the leg room available in Darrian passenger 
  craft!
  Most onboard systems are built with mechanical redundancy 
  in mind. Bulkhead doors can be opened with hand operated 
  cranks, or air purification modules physically pumped for 
  example. Such safety concerns are paramount to Darrian 
  design ethics. 
  Likewise all electronics, communications and computers 
  are hardened, using Darrian crystal components and ships 
  are required by law to install a separate, redundant radio 
  communication system, which can be used even if the main 
  comms have been destroyed. This is little more than a very 
  primitive radio with simple EMP proof components, which is 
  negligible in terms of space and cost.
  Since most Darrians are egalitarian and sociable by nature, 
  there is little demand for High Passage within the Confederation. 
  Liners run by bigger corporations have a small selection of 
  luxury staterooms for foreign travellers, but public areas are not 
  segregated by class or rank.
  Lesser Known Aspects of Darrian Space 
  Travel
  The following are customs within Darrian space.
  Any Ship Maybe Conscripted by the Military: Whilst rarely 
  invoked, Confederation law permits the brief commandeering 
  of a ship by a duly warranted Navy or Special Arm officer. 
  Normally used to rapidly transfer information or personnel in 
  emergency situations, most conscriptions are brief, lasting only 
  for the period to take the officer to an ordered destination. The 
  vessel cannot be forced to engage in combat activity, unless the 
  action would obviously prevent a greater loss of life. No matter 
  the eventual service provided, the ship owners (or their legal 
  inheritors) are always fully compensated for all losses incurred 
  by the commission.
  Communal Hospitality: Darrian adherence to pleasantness 
  and tolerance is especially noticeable aboard ship. With no 
  place to escape abusive personalities save your assigned 
  stateroom, most Darrian citizens go out of their way to be polite 
  and friendly. Many ships have adopted the Aslan tradition of 
  using the central lounge as a place for storytelling, both honest 
  recollections and fantastical fables, although the story is always 
  quantified first in order not to mislead the listeners. With little to 
  do, debating is another favourite pastime aboard but Darrians 
  never allow an impassioned discussion to get out of hand. 
  Everyone aboard a Darrian ship eats the same food, quaffs 
  the same drinks and shares the facilities equitably. None are 
  granted special privileges unless such are required by their 
  race, occupation or health.
  Draconian Starport Regulations: The Darrians are paranoid 
  about what a malfunctioning spaceship can do to orbital 
  structures or cities adjacent to ground based ports. Such 
  disasters have occurred a number of times in Confederation 
  history, causing the Darrians to impose strict approach 
  regulations on all of their worlds. Arriving vessels are required 
  to hand over the flight control of their ship to starport computers. 
  If a vessel lacks the automation required for remote control, 
  then they must wait for an authorised pilot to arrive before 
  flying the ship in. Refusal to comply with either request results 
  in landing permission being revoked. Ships continuing their 
  
  85
  approach after this point are given a single verbal warning, 
  then a shot across their bows. After this point the vessel is 
  considered a deliberate sabotage or invasion attempt and 
  targeted by all available weapons. Confederation law strictly 
  orders that any vessel aimed directly at the port, which 
  subsequently claims communications or engineering failure, 
  be treated as a deliberate collision attempt and immediately 
  destroyed, with no exceptions.
  Crews
  Darrian crews, like their ships, are staffed with redundancy and 
  contingency in mind. Most are cross trained in a secondary skill 
  relevant to the ship or a survival situation if forced to land on 
  an uninhabited world. Thus flight crew will often know some 
  engineering, whilst engineers may have sensor operation 
  knowledge and the steward trained as a paramedic.
  Confederation law states that in emergencies, the care of any 
  passengers is the crew’s responsibility. Prior to working in the 
  Merchant Marine, Darrian crews take basic qualifications in 
  Vacc Suit and Zero-G.  Since most crew served in the Navy 
  during their mandatory military service, this is generally not a 
  problem. Crew designated to passenger liners must take further 
  qualifications in either Survival or Medic. These licences must 
  be renewed every 10 years with refresher courses.
  Referee Note: Player Characters who wish to crew a 
  Darrian vessel but lack any of the above at a minimum of 
  skill-0, may undertake a series of crash courses to pick up 
  the basic knowledge. Each takes one week of full time or 
  one month of part time study to learn.
  Computer Interfaces
  Darrian shipboard computers are all capable of verbal 
  communication in Te-zlodh, Trokh and Galanglic. Passenger 
  entertainment suites are separate computer systems, with no 
  physical connection to the vessel’s engineering, life support and 
  flight computers. The communication and sensor computers 
  are only accessible from the flight deck.
  New Ship Components
  The following components are available to Darrian ship designs.
  Acceleration Benches: Acceleration benches are basic 
  seating used for temporary transportation of passengers. 
  Comfort is limited but safety is paramount. The benches are 
  heavily padded with integral safety harnesses in case of gravity 
  failure. They are normally designed to fold down from walls or 
  pull up from floors, so as to grant more usable space when not in 
  use. Each ton of Acceleration Benches can seat six passengers 
  and costs 10,000Cr.
  Brig: A brig is a secure chamber with reinforced walls and a 
  door that can be manually locked from the outside. Designed 
  to hold six prisoners, it can uncomfortably hold double that 
  number in a pinch. There are no internal facilities or controls, 
  save for a curtained fresher and six pull down slabs that can 
  be used as beds. Although intended for restraining captives or 
  crew held on a charge, quite often the majority of time a brig is 
  actually used as a temporary office or storage area. A brig takes 
  up four tons and costs 0.25MCr.
  Cargo Crane: Built into the ceilings of cargo holds, these 
  overhead gantry cranes are designed to shift shipping 
  containers in and out of a ship. The crane’s mechanism moves 
  about the bay on a sliding jig and can extend beyond the cargo 
  hatch door on a gibbet to deposit freight directly onto docksides 
  or vehicles. The crane is strong enough to lift fully loaded 32 
  and 64 dton containers and can couple to most types of pallets 
  or crates. The traversing lift mechanism of a Cargo Crane takes 
  up a base 2.25 tons but the gantry jigs require a further 0.25 
  tons per 150 tons of the hold.
  Sickbay: Sickbays are medical facilities that contain a 
  dispensary, treatment couch and biochemical analysis 
  equipment. Sickbays are used for medical care and surgery 
  but if more than a single patient requires treatment, they are 
  normally removed to their stateroom to recover. A sickbay 
  occupies four tons and costs MCr. 1
  Civilian starships
  All of the following designs are ubiquitous within the 
  Confederation and have the 10% discount for common designs 
  included in their cost breakdown. Built by Darrian shipyards, 
  few of these vessels are customarily available outside of 
  Confederation space. Most ships of less than 2,000 tons are 
  designed for atmospheric entry, with streamlined external hulls. 
  Civilian ships have no naming conventions but are often named 
  after flowers, animals or even ex-lovers. They are always 
  decorated with artistic paint jobs that reflect their appellation.
  The following vessels are all TL13 designs using the advanced 
  component rules from High Guard. Civilian vessels are sold 
  unarmed, weapons being unnecessary within Confederation 
  space. Life support costs are average crew values and do not 
  account for under or over occupancy. Hull and Structure values 
  are rounded up to the nearest whole number to reflect Darrian 
  technology and proclivity for additional safety.
  
  86
  Courier (Rehld class) 
  Using a 100 ton hull, the Darrian Rehld courier is a rapid communications carrier. It requires a crew of two: a pilot/navigator and 
  an engineer. The ship is packed with highly sensitive, long range communications gear and oversized jump drives. The majority of 
  its volume incorporates large fuel tanks so that several short jumps can be made sequentially without needing to dock. The vessel 
  can also carry a couple of passengers if needed, a requirement imposed and used by the Special Arm. 
  The operational protocol is that couriers stay stationed outside of planetary gravity wells, supported by small resupply ships 
  to refuel or swap crew as necessary. Communications are tight beamed to the ship, which can enter jump space immediately 
  reducing turnaround times. If assigned to a route involving many short jumps, the ship only needs to remain in real space for the 
  time it takes to exchange message traffic with the local starport and acknowledge receipt. It can then jump again without further 
  delay. If necessary, the courier can skim gas giants to refuel.
  Due to the tiny, cramped living quarters, the crew are given extended leave after each run; some routes taking up to five weeks to 
  complete. To avert boredom, most crews welcome a passenger aboard their courier for a short run.
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  100 Tons
  3 Hull
  —
  2,420,000
  Streamlined
  3 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  None
  —
  —
  Jump Drive
  B
  Jump 4
  15
  20,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  A
  Thrust 2
  1.5
  8,000,000
  Power Plant
  B
  Rating 4
  7
  16,000,000
  Bridge
  Compact, Hardened
  7.5
  687,500
  Computer
  Model/5 bis fib
  Rating 25+5
  —
  20,000,000
  Electronics
  Very Advanced
  Enhanced Signal 
  Processing
  7
  12,000,000
  Weapons
  1 Empty Hardpoint
  —
  —
  Fuel
  52 Tons
  One jump-4 and 6 
  weeks of operation
  52
  —
  Cargo
  None
  —
  —
  Staterooms
  2
  1 per crew member 
  8
  1,000,000
  Low Berths
  None
  —
  —
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Fuel Processor
  40 tons per day
  2
  100,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Jump/4
  Rating 20
  —
  400,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  6,120
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  4,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  100
  73,446,750
  
  1. Bridge (hardened) 2. Ready room 3. Stateroom (double) 4. Stateroom (double) 5. Galley 6. Ships locker / Main airlock 7. Access corridor 8. Engineering bay 9. 
  Port Electronics bay 10. Starboard Electronics bay 11 Avionics bay 12. Emergency access corridor 13. Jump Drive access (leads to enclosure on Command Deck)
  
  88
  Tramp Trader (Gagh class)
  The Gagh class is a Darrian tramp trader, usually owned and cooperatively run by the entire crew. They pick up and deliver 
  opportunity cargos with no fixed route or ports of call. Darrian trampers tend to operate out to the coreward and rimward border 
  regions of Darrian space, transporting goods to worlds outside of the well policed Confederation. 
  Since they often wander into neighbouring regions, the model comes lightly armoured. Those planning to venture into known 
  problem areas such as the Reidan or Sword World subsectors, generally invest in armaments as additional security.
  Minimum crew is a pilot/navigator, engineer, cargo officer and steward. If armed the cargo officer and/or steward often act as 
  gunnery officers. The ship can transport up to eight passengers if the crew double bunks.
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  200 Tons
  5 Hull
  —
  9,680,000
  Streamlined
  5 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  Crystaliron
  4 Points
  10
  1,600,000
  Jump Drive
  B
  Jump 2
  13.5
  25,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  A
  Thrust 1
  1.5
  8,000,000
  Power Plant
  B
  Rating 2
  7
  16,000,000
  Bridge
  Hardened
  10
  1,250,000
  Computer
  Model/3 bis fib
  Rating 15+5
  —
  4,000,000
  Electronics
  Basic Civilian
  1
  50,000
  Weapons
  2 Empty Hardpoints
  —
  —
  Fuel
  48 Tons
  One jump-2 and 4 
  weeks of operation
  48
  —
  Cargo
  84 Tons
  84
  —
  Staterooms
  6
  Up to 12 passengers 
  and crew
  24
  3,000,000
  Low Berths
  None
  —
  —
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Fuel Processor
  20 tons per day
  1
  50,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Jump/2
  Rating 10
  —
  200,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  5,238
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  12,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  200
  62,847,000
  
  1. Bridge (hardened) 2. Ready room 3,4,5,6,8,10. – State Rooms 9. Communal Lounge 7. Engineering console 11. Boarding room / access to boarding ramp.
  12. Cargo hold 13. Hold access corridor 14. Drive bay
  
  90
  Far Trader (Nalumb class)
  These trading ships are designed to bridge the gap between the Darrian Group worlds and outlying systems beyond the 
  Confederation. Akin to the Gagh class, its smaller contemporary, this ship comes armoured and captains planning on trade in the 
  Reidan or Sword World subsectors are recommended to purchase weaponry for self defence.
  Few Darrian shipping corporations use the Nalumb class in their trade fleets, finding the vessel too specialised. Most are in the 
  hands of owner captains who support themselves with bespoke delivery contracts, such as shipping munitions to contacts in the 
  Imperium. When fully armed the ship is a tough target for opportunist piracy, earning higher value transport contacts and danger 
  money for venturing into belligerent territory.
  The ship is crewed with a pilot/navigator, two engineers, cargo officer, steward and if armed, however many extra gunners are 
  required, with the cargo officer and steward filling in as two of them. The ship has space for an additional six passengers if a 
  minimum crew double bunks.
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  400 Tons
  9 Hull
  —
  19,360,000
  Streamlined
  9 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  Crystaliron
  6 Points
  30
  4,800,000
  Jump Drive
  F
  Jump 3
  33.25
  66,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  B
  Thrust 1
  2.25
  16,000,000
  Power Plant
  F
  Rating 3
  19
  48,000,000
  Bridge
  Hardened
  20
  2,500,000
  Computer
  Model/4 bis fib
  Rating 20+5
  —
  10,000,000
  Electronics
  Basic Civilian
  1
  50,000
  Weapons
  4 Empty Hardpoints
  —
  —
  Fuel
  144 Tons
  One jump-3 and four weeks of 
  operation
  144
  —
  Cargo
  125.5 Tons
  125.5
  —
  Staterooms
  6
  Up to 12 passengers and crew
  24
  3,000,000
  Low Berths
  None
  —
  —
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Fuel Processor
  20 tons per day
  1
  50,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Jump/3
  Rating 15
  —
  300,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  12,830
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  12,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  400
  153,954,000
  
  1. Communal lounge 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Staterooms 10. Bridge (hardened) 11. Operations deck 12. Security locker 13. Luggage/lockers 14. Top Hold 
  15. Engineering bay 16. Bottom Hold 17,18. Access corridors/light storage
  
  92
  Rapid Response Rescue Vessel (Yehng class)
  Whereas most Darrian ships are required to adhere to Confederation maintenance inspections, foreign vessels often jump into 
  Confederation space in dangerous condition. In the event of an SOS alert from a broken down vessel, whether from substandard 
  servicing or, worse still, fresh battle damage, the system starport often scrambles emergency rescue ships to evacuate the crew. 
  Rapid response ships possess very fast manoeuvre drives. On board are emergency teams capable of compartmentalising 
  damaged sections of a ship, extracting its passengers and providing top quality medical care. Each ship has two fully equipped 
  surgical bays. They also carry a Ship’s Boat, which fits into the Yehng’s spine for remote offloading of injured survivors and four 
  oversized repair drones to help patch damage on vessels of up to 800 tons.
  The comprehensive emergency locker is normally packed full of rescue equipment, from portable airlocks and thruster packs to 
  cutting torches and fire extinguishers. Anything an emergency crew could possibly need is included, whether it be hand tools, 
  reinforcing girders, arc lights, rope, demolition explosives, rescue bubbles, NAS scanners or the eternally useful duct tape.
  Standard crew is a pilot/navigator, engineer, two medics and a six man emergency boarding team. All are equipped with armoured 
  vacc suits. The ship has capacity for seating up to 45 passengers in acceleration benches, which can be folded down from walls or 
  up out of the floors of the extra wide corridors and an additional 20 low births for freezing critically injured patients.
    
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  200 Tons
  5 Hull
  —
  9,680,000
  Streamlined
  5 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  Crystaliron
  4 Points
  10
  1,600,000
  Jump Drive
  A
  Jump 1
  7.5
  20,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  F
  Thrust 6
  8.25
  48,000,000
  Power Plant
  F
  Rating 6
  19
  48,000,000
  Bridge
  Hardened
  10
  1,250,000
  Computer
  Model/4 bis fib
  Rating 20+5
  10,000,000
  Electronics
  Basic Military
  2
  1,000,000
  Weapons
  2 Empty Hardpoints
  —
  Fuel
  44 Tons
  One jump-1 and four weeks 
  of operation
  44
  —
  Cargo
  None
  —
  —
  Staterooms
  5
  Five double occupied crew 
  cabins
  20
  2,500,000
  Low Berths
  20
  10
  1,000,000
  Acceleration Benches
  45
  7.5
  750,000
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Emergency Locker
  14.75
  1,475,000
  Fuel Processor
  20 tons per day
  1
  50,000
  2 Sickbays
  8
  2,000,000
  Craft
  —
  —
  Ship’s Boat
  30
  17,829,000
  4 Repair Drones
  8
  1,600,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  — 
  Jump/1
  Rating 5
  —
  100,000
  Auto Repair/1
  Rating 10
  —
  5,000,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  12,963
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  15,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  200
  155,550,600
  
  1. Crash bay 2. Low berth bay 3. Access chamber 4 Bridge 5. Boarding room 6. Operations / access 7,8. Medical bays 11 Equipment stores/ship’s locker
  9,10. Engineering 12. Recovering deck 13 lounge/galley 14,15,16,17,18. Staterooms
  
  94
  Passenger Liner (Ldil class)
  Modestly sized cruise liners, the Ldil class are the backbone of long haul passenger transportation throughout the Confederation. 
  Like most small Darrian vessels, it is designed to be capable of landing on a planetary surface if required. The vessels cater solely 
  to passenger cruises, lacking any significant cargo capacity to trade merchandise on the side.
  Minimum crew is a pilot/navigator, two engineers, medic, cook and a liaison officer, who settles difficulties not solved by the ship’s 
  computer. The cook produces fresh food throughout the day, which is served at set times. The Ldil class liners are noted for their 
  extensive educational and entertainment systems; and the cabin layout, which maximises the communal areas.
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  600 Tons
  14 Hull
  —
  58,080,000
  Streamlined
  14 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  Crystaliron
  2 Points
  15
  4,800,000
  Jump Drive
  J
  Jump 3
  47.5
  99,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  F
  Thrust 2
  8.25
  48,000,000
  Power Plant
  J
  Rating 3
  28
  72,000,000
  Bridge
  Hardened
  20
  3,750,000
  Computer
  Model/4 bis fib
  Rating 20+5
  —
  10,000,000
  Electronics
  Basic Civilian
  1
  50,000
  Weapons
  6 Empty Hardpoints
  —
  —
  Fuel
  216 Tons
  One jump-3 and four weeks 
  of operation
  216
  —
  Cargo
  10.25 Tons
  10.25
  —
  Staterooms
  56
  Six crew and 50 passenger 
  cabins
  224
  28,000,000
  Low Berths
  20
  10
  1,000,000
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  2 Fuel Processors
  40 tons per day
  2
  100,000
  Sickbay
  4
  1,000,000
  Library
  4
  4,000,000
  Luxuries
  10
  1,000,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Jump/3
  Rating 15
  —
  300,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  24,906
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  112,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  600
  298,872,000
  
  1. Bridge (hardened) 2. Ready room 3. Dining room/galley 4. Ship’s locker 5. Main Airlock 6. Forward lounge and staterooms 7. Communal Hall 8,9. Engineering
  10. Forward lounge 11. Library 12. Exercise room 13. Sickbay 14. central lounge and staterooms 15. rear lounge and staterooms 16. Rear common room 
  17. Engineering 18. Access corridor 19. Boarding room 20. Low Passage bay 21. Luggage bay/Boarding area
  
  96
  Military starships
  As with the previous civilian ships, the following designs are 
  ubiquitous within the Confederation and have the 10% discount 
  for common designs included in their cost breakdown. Built by 
  the military shipyards around Daryen and Mire, none of these 
  designs are available outside of military control.
  Streamlined for covert planetary insertion or hiding within 
  gas giant atmospheres, Darrian military philosophy grants its 
  defensive ships every technological advantage it can afford. 
  The following vessels are all TL15 designs using the advanced 
  component rules from High Guard. Hull and Structure values 
  are rounded up to reflect advances in Darrian technology and 
  proclivity for additional safety.
  Naval classes are generally named after famous battles or war 
  heroes. Espionage vessels however are given odd titles with 
  nothing to do with war, killing or even stealth. Instead they are 
  called things like ‘Fridge’, ‘Ball’ or ‘Wife’ so that if overheard by 
  eavesdroppers, the designation will confuse any listener not 
  in the know.
  Covert Espionage Scout (Lehnd class)
  Although Darrians have no specific Scout service, they still use 
  scout vessels. These are primarily used by the military to keep 
  tabs on neighbouring fleet movements. The Lehnd class scout 
  is designed to remain small and quiet, jumping in to a system 
  far beyond the normally patrolled routes and drift through 
  using a black globe generator to hide its presence. The globe 
  is briefly lowered for a few seconds, several times during the 
  ballistic trip, so that the sensors can take a snapshot of the 
  traffic. The objective is less about getting the information but to 
  get away without being detected.
  To facilitate such missions, a pioneer scout will occasionally 
  jump into another part of the system to distract scans of more 
  alert enemies, whilst the covert scout momentarily drops its 
  globe. Such coordination of missions is another indication of the 
  tactical skills of the Confederation Navy. 
  The biggest limitation to the class is the black globe generator, 
  which sets an absolute minimum hull size. Since the scout 
  cannot refuel in an enemy system it is forced to use drop tanks to 
  reach its target destination, carrying enough hydrogen internally 
  for the return trip; there being no guarantee that the globe will 
  absorb enough energy to power a jump home. To reduce its 
  multidirectional silhouette the ship is spherical, fitting snugly 
  within the radius of the field. Its proprietary ‘rapid deployment 
  sensors’ pop up as the field drops, then flatten again to fit back 
  within the field
  To lower its thermodynamic profile, all other systems save the 
  passive sensors are shut down. This includes life support. Crew 
  are equipped with disposable chemical rebreathers to survive 
  the build-up of toxins in the air and wear fur lined suits to cope 
  with the extreme cold, generally clustering around the sensor 
  readouts for the microscopic background heat they produce. 
  Darrians who serve on Lehnd scouts often jokingly refer to 
  them as Cold Sleep Coffins but are physically tough in order to 
  survive days of –30 degrees during a scanning run.
  A Lehnd scout has a crew of four, a Pilot/Navigator, Engineer 
  and two Sensor Techs.
    
  rapid deployMent extended arrays
  This sensor upgrade works exactly like Extended Arrays 
  in High Guard, except that they can be deployed and 
  retracted within a few seconds. Of little use outside their 
  specific function in the Lehnd class scout, the bespoke 
  design adds no additional mass but does cost double that 
  of normal Extended Arrays.
  
  97
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  200 Tons
  6 Hull
  —
  12,000,000
  Standard
  6 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  Bonded Superdense, Stealth, Self-
  Sealing
  6 Points
  10
  26,000,000
  Jump Drive
  C – Stealth Jump
  Jump 3
  15
  90,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  B
  Thrust 2 (Thrust 1 
  when Drop Tanks 
  attached)
  2.25
  16,000,000
  Power Plant
  C
  Rating 3
  7.5
  48,000,000
  Bridge
  Hardened
  10
  1,250,000
  Computer
  Model/4 bis fib
  Rating 20+5
  —
  10,000,000
  Electronics
  Very Advanced
  Enhanced Signal 
  Processing, 
  Extended Arrays
  21
  72,000,000
  Weapons
  2 Empty Hardpoints
  —
  —
  Screens
  Black Globe Generator
  50
  100,000,000
  Fuel
  72 Tons
  One jump-3 and four 
  weeks of operation
  72
  —
  Cargo
  0.25
  0.25
  —
  Staterooms
  2
  Two double occupied 
  crew cabins
  8
  1,000,000
  Low Berths
  —
  —
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Drop Tank Attachments
  4
  2,000,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Jump/3
  Rating 15
  —
  300,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  28,467
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  6,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  200
  341,595,000
  
  1. Bridge 2. Monitoring Bay 3. Ship’s locker 4. Maintenance store 5. Main Airlock 6. Repair bay 7,14. Common rooms 8,13 Staterooms 9,10,11,12 Sensor array 
  maintenance bays 15 Electronics/Drives bay 16,17 Engineering bay
  
  99
  Pioneer Scout (Thengg class)
  The most common type of military scout, the Thengg class is designed for sensor saturation, rather than stealth. Their tactical 
  purpose is to jump into a system ahead of a fleet and either actively or passively scan it for all possible threats. After collecting and 
  processing the data, it tight beams it toward the pre-planned fleet arrival point or points, which are usually far away from where the 
  scout jumped in. The collated and pre-analysed data gives the arriving ships a head start in responding to the tactical situation.
  Of course, surviving long enough to make the transmission is often an issue. Thus the scout is built for speed and survivability, 
  lightly armed for situations where it is unable to escape engagement. To add mission flexibility, the scout is equipped with a fast 
  cycling drive and can start a mission using drop tanks, allowing it to make rapid surveys in enemy strongholds before skipping 
  home quickly with its internal fuel. 
  A Thengg scout has a crew of four, a Pilot/Navigator, Engineer and two Sensor Techs, one of whom acts as a tactician. If forced 
  to fight the sensor technicians man the weapons.
    
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.)
  Hull
  200 Tons
  6 Hull
  —
  13,200,000
  Streamlined
  6 Structure
  —
  —
  Armour
  Bonded Superdense, 
  Stealth, Self-Sealing, 
  Radiation Shielding
  9 Points (15 versus 
  nuclear weapons, particle 
  beams and fusion guns)
  15
  78,000,000
  Jump Drive
  C – Fast Cycle
  Jump 3
  15
  66,000,000
  Manoeuvre Drive
  F
  Thrust 6
  8.25
  48,000,000
  Power Plant
  F
  Rating 6
  14.25
  96,000,000
  Bridge
  Holographic Controls
  10
  1,250,000
  Computer
  Model/5 fib
  Rating 25
  —
  15,000,000
  Electronics
  Survey Sensors
  Enhanced Signal 
  Processing, Extended 
  Arrays
  36
  54,000,000
  Weapons
  2 Hardpoints
  —
  —
  Hardpoint #1
  Triple Turret (beam 
  lasers, Long Range, Very 
  High Yield)
  1
  7,000,000
  Hardpoint #2
  Triple Turret (Missile 
  Rack, Accurate, High 
  Yield)
  1
  5,500,000
  Fuel
  84 Tons
  One jump-3 and four 
  weeks of operation
  84
  —
  Cargo
  0.5
  0.5
  —
  Staterooms
  2
  Two double occupied 
  crew cabins
  8
  1,000,000
  Low Berths
  —
  — 
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Fuel Processor
  Refuel in 1.4 days
  3
  150,000
  Drop Tank Attachments
  4
  2,000,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Jump/3
  Rating 15
  —
  300,000
  Fire Control/3
  Rating 15
  —
  6,000,000
  Evade/3
  Rating 25
  —
  3,000,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  —
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  29,805
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  6,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  200
  357,660,000
  
  1. Bridge 2. Ship’s locker 3. Lounge/galley and staterooms 4. Stores 5. Engineering / Power plant 6. Turret workstation 7. Monitor bay 8. Turret workstation
  10. Drive bay
  
  101
  System Defence Boat (Piholz class)
  The backbone of many Darrian system defence squadrons, the 
  Piholz class SDB is a vicious small ship in combat. With no 
  Jump Drive the main bulk of its volume can be dedicated to 
  heavy armament, permitting it to pack a very heavy punch. Over 
  engineered to allow it to survive high pressure atmospheres, 
  the SDB often lurks in seas or the deep atmosphere of a gas 
  giants, using the environment to shield it from sensors and 
  energy weapon damage. Internally every component has its 
  own armoured bulkhead.
  Darrian SDB tactics are based on their guerrilla warfare mentality. 
  The boat itself remains hidden but sends out sensor drones to 
  passively locate targets approaching the ambush site. In that 
  way the SDB can covertly manoeuvre itself into the best position 
  for a strike, often ballistically launching stealth torpedoes, which 
  coast into close attack range before triggering their drives. In 
  this way, the SDB remains hidden. Energy weapons are only 
  used to finish off an already seriously damaged ship or when 
  forced into an unavoidable engagement.
  The 100 ton bay contains 30 torpedoes loaded in six separate 
  revolving cylinders (five torpedoes each). These spin to allow 
  the gunner to choose different loads for each salvo. Up to six 
  torpedoes can be launched simultaneously. Darrian torpedoes 
  are highly advanced designs, which are stealth capable. Since 
  the boat’s primary weapon requires expendable munitions, 
  Darrians set up resupply caches hidden in secure locations. 
  Most of the time SDBs simply patrol their home system, 
  serving in customs, police pursuit or anti piracy roles. 
  The ship’s launch is used to board craft for inspection but 
  combat boarding actions are done by Marines wearing 
  Battle Dress who EVA across once the target vessel has 
  been immobilised. Darrian naval regulations forbid the 
  docking of an SDB to a potentially hostile vessel, until it 
  has been cleared of any threats.
  A Piholz SDB has a crew of 20. These are the 
  Commander, Pilot/Navigator, Sensor Officer, Engineer, 
  four Gunners and a squad of 12 Marines. To maximise 
  space, sleeping quarters are simple two tier bunks (with 
  curtains) built into the walls of the communal area. Two 
  freshers serve the entire crew. The ship has a small brig 
  to hold potential captives but generally the room is used 
  as a day office by the Commander.
    
  darrian torpedoes
  A key aspect of their system defence doctrine, the Darrians have continued to evolve Torpedo technology to a new pinnacle 
  of achievement, far beyond where other cultures have switched to more advanced weaponry. 
  For torpedo designs only, the Darrians have been able to create a TL15 stealth casing to reduce its sensor profile. The 
  Stealth upgrade gives a –4 DM on any Sensors roll to detect or lock onto the torpedo and takes up one upgrade slot.
  Torpedo Type
  TL 
  Damage
  Upgrades
  Cost (Cr.)
  Basic
  15
  4d6
  Resilient, Stealth
  10,000
  Nuclear
  15
  6d6+Radiation
  Resilient, Stealth
  30,000
  Bomb-
  Pumped
  15
  6d6 X-Ray Laser
  Very High Yield, Stealth
  40,000
  Antimatter
  17
  12d6+Radiation
  Resilient, Stealth
  Priceless Pre-Maghiz 
  Artefacts
  In addition the torpedo bays themselves are refined designs, allowing the more accurate launch of their 
  munitions. Using revolving cylinders, standard bays contain 15 torpedoes launched in salvoes of three, whilst 
  large bays hold 30 torpedoes, which can be fired in salvoes of six.
  Torpedo Bay
  TL 
  Tons
  Upgrades
  Cost (Cr.)
  Standard
  15
  45
  Reduced Tonnage, Accurate
  24,000,000
  Large
  15
  90
  Reduced Tonnage, Accurate
  48,000,000
  
  102
  Tons
  Cost (Cr.) 
  Hull
  400 Tons
  16 Hull
  —
  26,400,000
  Streamlined
  12 Structure
  —
  —
  Reinforced Hull
  32
  3,200,000
  Armour
  Bonded Superdense, 
  Radiation Shielding, Self-
  Sealing, Stealth
  12 Points (18 versus 
  nuclear weapons, particle 
  beams and fusion guns)
  40
  160,000,000
  Jump Drive
  None
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre Drive
  M
  Thrust 6
  17.25
  96,000,000
  Power Plant
  M
  Rating 6
  27.75
  192,000,000
  Bridge
  Holographic Controls
  20
  2,500,000
  Computer
  Model/5 fib
  Rating 25
  —
  15,000,000
  Electronics
  Survey Sensors
  Enhanced Signal 
  Processing
  12
  18,000,000
  Weapons
  4 Hardpoints
  —
  —
  Bay
  Large Torpedo Bay (see 
  Darrian Torpedoes)
  91
  48,000,000
  Hardpoint #2
  Particle Beam Barbette 
  (Accurate, High Yield) 
  4d6
  6
  16,000,000
  Hardpoint #3
  Particle Beam Barbette 
  (Accurate, High Yield) 
  4d6
  6
  16,000,000
  Hardpoint #4
  Triple Beam Laser Turret 
  (Accurate, High Yield) 
  1d6
  1
  8,000,000
  Fuel
  48 Tons
  four weeks of operation
  48
  —
  Cargo
  3.2
  3.2
  —
  Staterooms
  10
  10 double occupied crew 
  cabins
  40
  5,000,000
  Low Berths
  —
  —
  Extras
  —
  —
  Ship’s Locker
  —
  —
  Armoury
  3
  750,000
  Brig
  4
  250,000
  Fuel Processor
  Refuel in 9.6 hours
  6
  300,000
  Armoured Bulkheads
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre Drive
  1.725
  345,000
  Power Plant
  2.775
  555,000
  Fuel Tank
  4.8
  960,000
  Bridge
  2
  400,000
  Sensors
  1.2
  240,000
  Torpedo Bay
  9.1
  1,820,000
  Barbettes
  1.2
  240,000
  Craft
  —
  —
  Launch
  20
  13,569,000
  Software
  —
  —
  Manoeuvre
  —
  —
  Fire Control/5
  Rating 25
  —
  10,000,000
  Evade/3
  Rating 25
  —
  3,000,000
  Intellect
  Rating 10
  —
  1,000,000
  Library
  — 
  —
  Maintenance Cost (monthly)
  —
  47,965
  Life Support Cost (monthly)
  —
  30,000
  Total Tonnage & Cost
  400
  575,576,100
  
  1. Bridge 2. Operations room / Forward gunnery bay (turret) 3. Brig 4. Ship’s locker 5. Armoury 6. Ready room 7. Boarding room (leading to Ship’s Launch)
  8. Sensor Bay 9. Common room 10. Meeting room/galley 11. Freshers (located between 10 and 12 but not labeled 12. Crew habitation area 13. Main access 
  chamber 14. Engineering bay 15,16. Barbette bays 17. Torpedo Gunnery bay 18,19. Torpedo loading bays/cargo 20. Main access chamber 
  21,22,23. Engineering bay
  
  104
  darrian Capital ships
  Within the Confederation, the following tonnage definitions 
  are used for jump capable warships, so called Capital Ships. 
  All Darrian vessels in these classes are built around a spinal 
  weapon, possess black globe defences and are based on a 
  spherical design philosophy, maximising internal volume whilst 
  reducing sensor profile.
  Displacement
  Type
  2,001 – 5,000 
  Frigate
  5,001 – 10,000
  Destroyer
  10,001 – 40,000
  Light Cruiser
  40,001 – 70,000
  Assault Cruiser
  70,001 – 100,000
  Heavy Cruiser
  100,001+
  Battleship
  Unlike the capital ships of the Imperium and Zhodani 
  Consulate, the Darrians scale their spinal weapons to 
  fit the size of the warship, using design philosophies 
  conceived before the Maghiz. This makes their primary 
  armament very frightening on their larger ships.
  The new TL15 Imperium built capital ships of the Darrian 
  Navy are based upon the following design architecture, 
  which allows them to reach anywhere in the Confederation 
  (including the Entropic Group) in only two jumps. The 
  improved jump capability of the modern vessels has 
  outstripped the older scout ship ranges, hindering the 
  fleet’s strategic movement. Thus revised scout designs 
  are being rushed to production, in preparation for a 
  planned assault to recover the Entropic Worlds from the 
  Sword World annexation.
  Class
  Jump
  Manoeuvre
  Power Plant
  System Defence
  —
  6
  6
  Escorts 
  4
  6
  6
  Cruisers
  4
  4
  6
  Fleet Carriers
  4
  2
  6
  Fleet Tenders
  Varies
  Varies
  Varies
  Colonial squadrons are formed from warships retired 
  from the Confederation Navy. However, they are outdated 
  designs that reduce all of the previous values by one. 
  Thus an escort in the Roget home fleet would have Jump-
  3, Manoeuvre-5 and Power plant-5.
  Since Darrian naval doctrine does not believe in the use 
  of small fighter craft, preferring large torpedoes or very 
  smart missiles, Fleet Carriers are actually huge vessels 
  of cruiser displacement (10,001+ tons), which bear 
  multiple SDBs, used tactically in squadrons to swarm 
  enemy escorts. Unlike some Imperium equivalents, 
  Darrian Fleet Carriers are designed to launch their full 
  complement of SDBs moments after arriving in system, 
  and possess fast cycle Jump drives.
  Fleet tenders are a mishmash of obsolete capital ships 
  with their spinal weapons, manoeuvre drives and most 
  internal bulkheads gutted so that they can carry fuel 
  and supplies. Only point defence weaponry is retained 
  for protection. Each tender can have a wide variety of 
  jump ranges according to what the original vessels were 
  capable of. 
  The Darrians currently lack anything in the battleship 
  range, seeing no current need for such vessels at this 
  time and preferring a more numerous, flexible force. 
  Fleet Tactics
  Peacetime defence relies primarily on SDB patrols assigned to 
  policing space lanes and actively surveying the outer system 
  for scouts or pirate vessels. Capital ships generally stay close 
  to the homeworld or naval assets unless posted on training 
  missions. 
  When placed on a war footing however, strategic and tactical 
  doctrine changes. The majority of SDBs are reassigned to 
  prepared ambush positions, such as hidey-holes drilled into the 
  sides of system debris, where they enter silent running. To help 
  obfuscate their actual positions, modest sized carriers are used 
  to transport them, collecting or deploying SDBs in unobservable 
  locations, such as the lee of large asteroids or the atmospheres 
  of gas giants. 
  The random paths taken by in-system SDB carriers provides 
  a layer of misdirection, since enemy scouts cannot be sure of 
  whether an SDB is present at that location or not. Often the 
  transporter is completely empty during its ‘deployment’ run, or 
  simply carries replacement crews and supplies which can be 
  rapidly exchanged by swapping out small craft.
  Likewise, the capital elements of colonial squadrons are always 
  kept in motion, never remaining in one location for longer than 
  is necessary for resupply or repair. Worlds further back from the 
  battle lines are often stripped of strength to reinforce systems 
  within jump distance of attack.
  The relatively recent discovery of a pre-Maghiz stockpile 
  of Darrian built Black Globe generators in the Sigma naval 
  base (see Darrian Secrets), allowed Special Arm scientists to 
  dismantle the devices, destructively analyse the components 
  
  105
  and eventually replicate the technology. Although these new 
  defences were fabricated too late to aid in the Fourth Frontier 
  War, the Darrian Navy has since installed them throughout the 
  Confederation fleet in all of their cruisers and escorts. 
  Whilst knowledge of their Black Globes ostensibly remains 
  top secret, naval architects in the Imperium are starting to 
  suspect that the Darrians know more about the technology that 
  they are letting on; since the new warship designs provided in 
  exchange for the loan of capital ship construction yards possess 
  ‘convenient’ empty spaces near the power plants which are 
  perfect for Black Globe placement.
  The tactics available to Black Globe installed ships suit the 
  inherent Darrian military conventions of stealth and surgical 
  strikes. Naval flotillas regularly practice coordinated fleet 
  manoeuvres in uninhabited regions of space, where a vanguard 
  squadron jumps ahead of time into the far reaches of a system, 
  immediately erects its globes and ballistically drifts towards a 
  pre-planned objective. A second squadron then jumps openly 
  into the system, dynamically repositioning itself as a lure or 
  anvil for the in-system defences. At a specific synchronised 
  time, the stealthed squadron drops its globes and performs its 
  task, whether to ambush the unsuspecting enemy or to strike at 
  facilities they may have been guarding.
  Such ‘hit and run’ doctrine reflects Darrian strategic weakness, 
  namely the lack of manufacturing capacity and limited military 
  spending within their modest sized Confederation. Naval assets 
  are preserved as best as possible in preference to stand up 
  battles.
  Surplus Black Globes have also been co-opted into a new naval 
  weapon. The devices are built into oversized 100dTon drone 
  torpedoes, consisting of nothing more than manoeuvre drives 
  and capacitors. They are designed as outriders, launched before 
  combat and act as mobile shields, soaking up ordinance aimed 
  at the controlling ship but still allowing the vessel to launch its 
  own missile armament whilst simultaneously rendering it safe 
  against catastrophic overload. 
  Various novel tactics have been developed, such as using drones 
  to ram the enemy – completely blocking scans and weapon 
  fire over an ever-increasing arc of space as it approaches and 
  hopefully overloading if it manages to collide. Another concept 
  is to launch them in pairs, one remaining behind the protective 
  screen of the other, swapping when capacitors approach full 
  charge and bleeding off the stored energy firing anti missile 
  lasers across the arc of sky not blocked by its twin. 
  Although intensively practiced by the core fleet, these techniques 
  remain untested in actual combat, being held as a trump card 
  for the major war Confederation analysts have projected. Since 
  each drone is extremely expensive and slow to manufacture, 
  they are restricted to retrofitted weapon bays on Confederation 
  Navy capital ships. 
  Sigma  Fleet
  The Darrian strategic reserve of TL16 cruisers currently outguns 
  most of their enemies, each ship potentially capable of taking 
  out at least three times its own weight in enemy warships in a 
  straight-up fight, based around a Jump-6, Manoeuvre-6 design. 
  The ships have the following technological advantages:
  More efficient drives and power plants, resulting in reduced fuel 
  consumption (50% of that required for a TL15 equivalent).
  Black Globes.
  Stealth Armour with a –6 DM for detection.
  Neural/Psionic shielded.
  Superior sensors with a +6 DM and ranges increased by one 
  step greater than distributed arrays.
  Superior countermeasures with a +8 DM that can affect meson 
  comms.
  Bay sized Neural Cannon that can render a psionically 
  unshielded crew non-functional without damaging the targeted 
  ship.
  Antimatter Torpedoes that are irreplaceable once the limited 
  stockpile is used up.
  A self aware AI computer system (Rating 125) that can effectively 
  operate the ship unaided and knows all Gunnery, Piloting, 
  Navigation, Engineering and Naval Tactics skills relating to itself 
  at level 5, having spent centuries polishing its expertise.
  
  106
  darrian enCounters
  Encounters within the Confederation are generally the same 
  as those to be experienced in the Imperium. The majority of 
  encounters will be with Darrian citizens who are interested in 
  study or expanding their horizons. This can include Aslan as 
  well as humans who form a thriving part of Darrian society. 
  Foreigners in Darrian space can expect to be the centre of polite 
  attention, with many requests for their history or descriptions of 
  exciting places they might have visited.
  Despite their generally congenial and law abiding nature, there 
  are still a proportion of marginalised or desperate people who 
  may draw characters into nefarious deeds. Whilst Darrians do 
  not generally involve themselves in nefarious activities, off-
  world travellers might be approached to undertake questionable 
  commissions for them.
  Visitors to Darrian worlds are expected to act within the customs 
  of that planet. Rudeness, lying and even egocentric behaviour 
  can get a character into trouble. Persistent transgressions will 
  cause the character to find themselves ostracised, nobody 
  willing to speak to or sell them anything. 
  Outright criminal deeds, if noticed, will immediately draw 
  the attention of an envoy or police officer who will politely 
  explain that such actions are not permitted. Unless the crime 
  has seriously injured somebody (either physically or their 
  reputation), a foreigner will be let go with a caution, which is 
  noted against his planetary visa. A repeat performance however 
  will result in a fine and deportation, unless the character wishes 
  to defend themselves in court, at which point it could get far 
  worse depending on their cultural sensitivity and knowledge of 
  Darrian law.
  randoM darrians
  Use the following to generate random Darrians as Patrons, 
  Allies, Contacts, Rivals, Enemies or just simple encounters 
  during an adventure.
  Profession
  Roll
  11
  Wandering exile
  12
  Luddite from Rorre
  13
  Philosopher of the Taledh School
  14
  Wealthy businessman
  15
  Retired geriatric
  16
  Travelling envoy
  21
  Militia officer
  22
  Flame sculptor
  23
  Corporation employee
  24
  Ecologist
  25
  Famous poet
  26
  Confederation Councillor
  31
  Planetologist
  32
  Smuggler
  33
  Merchant
  34
  Naval officer or pilot
  35
  Bureaucrat
  36
  Medical retiree
  41
  Recently sacked
  42
  Embassy staff
  43
  Naval officer
  44
  Imperial agent
  45
  Farmer
  46
  Physician
  51
  Sword World saboteur
  52
  Engineer
  53
  Scientific laureate
  54
  Guard Officer
  55
  Minor
  56
  University administrator
  61
  Escaped from mental institution
  62
  Aslan war hero
  63
  Zhodani spy
  64
  Hydroponics specialist
  65
  Media star
  66
  Special Arm operative
  
  107
  Motivation
  Roll
  11
  Seek shelter
  12
  Foreswear technology
  13
  Spread wisdom
  14
  Philanthropy
  15
  Find missing family 
  16
  Expand knowledge of social customs
  21
  Looking for employment
  22
  Seeking artistic inspiration
  23
  Commit suicide
  24
  Locate a missing object
  25
  Revenge against a rival
  26
  Travel off world
  31
  Join the military
  32
  Remove the taint of exile
  33
  Learn to fly a starship
  34
  Escape from pursuers
  35
  Become a famous scientist
  36
  Make friends with a non-Darrian
  41
  Find new narcotic experiences
  42
  Reveal an ancient secret
  43
  Discover a new technology
  44
  Get rid of a lover
  45
  Stop the Zhodani
  46
  Kill an animal
  51
  Murder an enemy
  52
  Cover up a conspiracy
  53
  Test others for psionic abilities
  54
  Sell new scientific breakthrough
  55
  Become a dean of a famous university
  56
  Purchase an illicit weapon
  61
  Cause the collapse of the Sword Worlds
  62
  Travel out of the Confederation
  63
  Get hold of a pre-Maghiz artefact
  64
  Kick an addiction
  65
  Fight in a real war
  66
  Uncover a deadly secret
  Distinguishing Features
  Roll
  11
  Suspicious of off-worlders
  12
  Checks wristcomp and communicator obsessively
  13
  Painfully chaste
  14
  Has blemished un-golden skin
  15
  Wears extreme fashion
  16
  Missing limb or digit
  21
  Possesses a strange accent
  22
  Centre of attention wherever they go
  23
  Accompanied by 1-6 children
  24
  Has a dangerous secret
  25
  Charming
  26
  Intellectually supercilious
  31
  Terrible pessimist
  32
  Very protective of family
  33
  Unusual hairstyle
  34
  Moves gracefully
  35
  Only wears a specific colour
  36
  Can trace line back to Taledh
  41
  Heavy facial scars
  42
  Unusually week and feeble (needs an exoskeleton)
  43
  Uses strong perfumes or scents
  44
  Refuses to wear anything other than formal garb
  45
  Always cheerful and happy
  46
  Wears minimal clothing
  51
  Never eats meat
  52
  Extremely pacifistic
  53
  Loves excessive amounts of jewellery
  54
  Frustratingly stoic
  55
  Resembles an ancient hero
  56
  Prefers Aslan to other Darrians
  61
  Always carries a concealed weapon
  62
  Especially clueless and naive
  63
  Egotistical; justifiably so, damn them
  64
  Plays annoyingly loud music
  65
  Tends to use excessive profanity
  66
  Extraordinarily generous
  
  108
  Random Names
  Roll
  Roll
  11
  Khardogn
  41
  Klaudha
  12
  Mhorgund
  42
  Rhadnor
  13
  Rhikard
  43
  Ihvan
  14
  Phadrag
  44
  Mhakuz
  15
  Hehrtmun
  45
  Elha
  16
  Konstahnz
  46
  Rhynd
  21
  Yarhfel
  51
  Zalli
  22
  Zamtha
  52
  Gherarkt
  23
  Pherign 
  53
  Prothaldh
  24
  Zigfrehd
  54
  Khim
  25
  Lharli
  55
  Maxmiln
  26
  Khomak
  56
  Brenhdn
  31
  Zolga
  61
  Liza
  32
  Mattizus
  62
  Ahlrik
  33
  Annaz
  63
  Pheneli
  34
  Phranz
  64
  Vhituz
  35
  Ghilziam
  65
  Stven
  36
  Ghorge
  66
  Yohan
  saMple darrian patrons 
  Darrian patrons, as their commissions, can be as widely varied 
  as those in the Imperium. A Darrian is more likely to hire non-
  Confederation citizens for nefarious jobs and more likely to 
  hire Darrians for tasks that require intellectual or sociological 
  expertise. Beggars cannot be choosers however and the 
  following jobs are open to anyone from any race, creed or polity 
  – except perhaps Zhodani or Sword Worlders.
  Zamsone Yhantof, the Exile
  Requirements: Diplomat, Steward, Medic; spacecraft
  Rewards: Expenses plus Cr. 20,000/parsec travelled
  Player’s Information
  Zamsone is a particularly thin and drawn looking Darrian 
  female, who introduces herself as a wandering philosopher 
  of the M’Dath school. She needs to travel home to Ektron 
  discretely, avoiding standard liners and travel routes. She wants 
  the characters to take her there. 
  Referee’s Information
  Zamsone is a charming and urbane Darrian, but she hides a 
  dark secret. 
  1. Zamsone is actually a Darrian spy, who is carrying vital 
  information related to military operations along the border. She 
  is heading to a lesser pickup point to give her hunters the slip 
  but both Zhodani and Sword World agents are close behind.
   
  2. Zamsone is fleeing her husband, a bureaucrat high in the 
  Confederation Council. She deliberately had herself exiled to 
  escape his domineering clutches but he refuses to let her go 
  and will send agents after the Player Characters. If Zamsone 
  can reach her school’s homeworld, she can have a respected 
  teacher intercede and act on her behalf to gain an unheard of 
  divorce. Otherwise, one of the Player Characters will have to 
  settle the situation more permanently. The bruises and scars on 
  her body are proof enough of the husband’s nature.
  3. Zamsone was exiled under false pretences and having 
  located the proof she needed, is returning home to disrupt the 
  marriage of her jealous rival who planted the false evidence 
  against her. Her rival has learned of her return and plans to kill 
  Zamsone before she makes it home.
  4. Zamsone has stolen money from an Imperial corporation that 
  she briefly worked for, with which she is paying for her voyage. 
  She is a wanted criminal as well as exiled and the characters 
  are accessories to this crime. Once at Ektron she plans to find a 
  new identity and leave the characters to face the music.
  5. Zamsone is a Darrian mystic, psionically trained. She 
  wants the characters to stop off at various shrines and ancient 
  battlegrounds along the way. 
  6. Zamsone is dying and wants to make it back to her school 
  before she perishes. However, she has to keep her illness a 
  secret, in case the characters wish to place her in a medical 
  facility where the fact that she is an exile will be revealed. Initially, 
  she keeps the illness a secret from the characters but she falls 
  ill on the journey, placing the characters in a moral dilemma. 
  She longs to see her home before she dies but the characters 
  will be forced to smuggle her onto the planet otherwise she will 
  be deported again.
  Grath Hamnhan, Special Arm Commando 
  Officer
  Required: Broker, Gunnery, Comms; Spacecraft; 
  Reward: Cr. 500,000
  Player’s Information
  Grath reveals himself as a Special Arm commando who has 
  been requested to infiltrate the Sword Worlds forces in the 
  Entropic Worlds. He approaches the characters and asks for 
  their help to establish his cover. If they agree he provides fake 
  ID’s from the Dorannia system, establishing their cover as the 
  Bloody Shadows, a successful mercenary unit with a cargo of 
  nuclear missiles to sell. Grath acts as their XO. He has seen 
  enough war to make his cover frighteningly convincing and is 
  familiar with all the problems that can befall a merc unit. 
  Referee’s Information
  The Bloody Shadows already have a reputation through the 
  Spinward Marches as a competent unit of Special Forces. 
  The cargo really does contain nuclear missiles, plus specially 
  
  109
  decaled suits of Combat Armour, Gauss rifles and other useful 
  gizmos to outfit the crew. On arrival at Entrope the vessel is 
  stopped and searched by a Sword World destroyer. The 
  characters are invited to dinner by the captain, who asks them 
  to perform a task for him to prove their worth.
  1. The characters are invited to accompany him on a hunt 
  on the planetary surface, to bag one of the feral omnivores. 
  Unfortunately the captain is not speaking of the ghoulish 
  creatures introduced by the Sword Worlders but rather of the 
  resistance forces. A combat shuttle takes the characters down 
  to a village that is obviously full of innocent Darrian citizens, 
  where the obviously psychotic naval officer fully selects one for 
  his hunt, fully expecting the characters to join him in his sport.
  2. They are sent to ‘terminate’ the illicit salvage operations on 
  the warship wrecks drifting in the outer system. The Sword 
  Worlders view this as desecrating graves. Once in the outer 
  system however the characters come across a Darrian naval 
  ship covertly hollowing out an asteroid. At this time the captain 
  in his destroyer alters course to double check on their activity. 
  Should the characters rat on the naval ship, which is a sitting 
  duck, thus proving their loyalty? Or set an ambush with the 
  help of the stealthy Darrian vessel and sink at least one enemy 
  vessel before fleeing?
  3. Sent out on salvage suppression as above, Grath suddenly 
  presents a heart rending story of wishing to recover his father’s 
  body, lost on one of the warships currently drifting in the 
  Entrope system. He apologises for his previous lie as this is 
  not a legitimate Special Arm mission but offers an additional Cr. 
  50,000 if they help him out. On arrival at the wreck however, it 
  soon becomes obvious that he is trying to salvage something of 
  great import from the engineering section.
  4. Asked to prove the quality of their Dorannia nuclear missiles, 
  the characters are given some planetary coordinates to fire on, 
  which turn out to be a civilian target. If the characters balk, Grath 
  orders them to do it. If they still refuse, the mercenary company 
  is arrested and imprisoned aboard the destroyer along with their 
  cargo. Unknown to the characters, the fission warheads have 
  been built to blow at a specific time and Grath’s mission was to 
  convince the Sword Worlders to accept the deal and take them 
  aboard before time runs out.
  5. The characters are asked to solve a ‘little problem’ on the 
  planet. On arrival they find themselves face-to-face with the real 
  Bloody Shadows. The captain, obviously enjoying himself, 
  wishes to know which group are the imposters. If nobody owns 
  up, weapons and armour are brought and the two teams told to 
  fight it out. Any character who takes a moment to think about it 
  will realise the winners are going to be shot anyway. Their best 
  chance is to shoot the captain and then join the Resistance.
  6. The captain, in a private moment over dinner, expresses his 
  irritation at the incompetence posed by his superior officer in 
  charge of the annexing fleet. He wants to know if the Bloody 
  Shadows would be willing to assassinate the admiral on his 
  heavy cruiser. If so, the mercenary team would have proven 
  their absolute loyalty but it seems like a suicide mission...
  Archaeologist Zon Dehking
  Requires: Science, Investigate, Recon, Stealth.
  Rewards: Cr. 10,000/day
  Player’s Information
  Forced to make port at Winston (whether due to mis-jump, 
  diplomatic mission or hired by a Sword World agent) the 
  characters find they have several days to kick around before 
  they are granted an exit visa. News spreads that a xeno-
  archaeologist named Zon Dehking has wandered from the 
  local sanatorium. He had been recently discovered, completely 
  insane, at the edge of a jungle in the southern continent; raving 
  that he had discovered a vast alien city, long lost under the 
  detritus of the tropical forest. A reward has been posted for his 
  safe recovery.
  Referee’s Information
  Dehking apparently managed to locate his breathing apparatus 
  and has gone back to the jungle in his freshly recharged 
  exoskeleton. The trail can be picked up where he was 
  discovered. What exactly draws him back is unknown…
  1. Zon has not returned to the jungle. He was kidnapped by the 
  Sword World commander currently in charge of the occupation. 
  Frustrated by the number of his troops who are getting 
  slaughtered in the green hell, the officer has orchestrated an 
  independent expedition, which he will follow up with a squad of 
  marines and Zon in tow, fully expecting to locate the main base 
  of the Darrian Resistance. His plan a failure, he will begin to 
  accuse the characters of being Darrian agents, at which point the 
  Sword World troops will be attacked by the planet’s indigenous 
  giant arthropods. If the characters attack the marines too, the 
  insects will leave them alone. The creatures will then vanish into 
  the jungle, carrying a willing Zon with them.
  2. Zon was driven to the edge of darkness by a terrible discovery. 
  Following his trail the characters will find a clearing in which is 
  parked a Sword World military transport. Being unloaded from 
  the cargo hold are barrels that look suspiciously like SuSAG 
  hazardous biowaste containers. A stealthy approach reveals 
  crude labels saying ‘Mil Rations – Beans’. If peeled away, 
  underneath the stencil mark reads ‘Experimental Bioweap 
  D816 batch 2 – Blue Dragon’. There are lots of barrels and it is 
  noticeable that all Sword World troops, both here and back in 
  the city, are wearing NBC suits...
  
  110
  3. Zon can be found not too far inside the jungle. He appears 
  lucid and claims he really has found a lost city and has been the 
  victim of a conspiracy. Everyone, even the doctors, claim he is 
  having visions. Allowed to guide the characters onwards, the 
  professor will mutter a few tantalising descriptions of its location 
  under his breath but an hour later will collapse from nervous 
  stress. If they decide to push on a little further they will locate 
  the overgrown ‘city’, a collection of destroyed buildings made of 
  hexagonal crystal bricks, occupied by dangerous arthropods, 
  perhaps the remnants of the original builders. Were the locals 
  covering up the knowledge and if so, why? 
  4. Zon can be found madly dancing near the ancient overgrown 
  wreck of a Zhodani scoutship nearly 2,000 years old. Hacking 
  through the vegetation the hull seems intact. The airlock has to 
  be manually cranked. Inside, the crew are horrifying mummies 
  inside their vac suits, covered with a strange blue growth. Part 
  of the memory system is still intact; its record recoverable by a 
  computer tech. Scanning through the surviving records reveals 
  this was the third mission to Winston in –849 to investigate 
  reports of a highly dangerous anti-telepathic weapon present 
  on the planet. The previous two missions never returned. 
  5. Zon has returned to the scene of a crime, which broke his 
  mind. The body of a fellow Darrian lies half devoured at the 
  base of a small camp. Overturned, rain sodden notes reveal the 
  body is of a xeno-immunologist with a speciality in astronomy, 
  who believed he had identified the source of Draygon’s Disease, 
  which was not a bacterium on the planet but spores dropped 
  from a comet that passes close to Winston every 1,961 years. 
  According to his calculations it is due to pass again soon and he 
  had informed the Sword World commander in order to avert the 
  disaster of another plague of the natural bio-weapon striking the 
  world. He has been killed by small arms fire and there are the 
  landing marks of a Sword World grav car are nearby.
  6. Zon’s tracks lead to an arboreal village of degenerate 
  humanoids covered with purple, bruise-like discolorations over 
  their skin and wriggling wormlike proboscises on their faces. 
  Seemingly empathic, they are able to control the insectoid 
  fauna. Zon Dehking refuses to leave but can be kidnapped if the 
  characters are willing to risk conflict with the giant insects. On 
  their return to civilisation, the characters find they are infected 
  with Draygon’s Disease...
  Khali Ngath, Darrian Business Executive
  Requires: Mechanic, Engineering, Vacc Suit; Spacecraft
  Rewards: A cargo of precious metals and radioactives.
  Player’s Information
  Khali Ngath is an ex-miner in charge of the corporation 
  extracting heavy metals from Spume. She is worried about 
  the odd nature of communications recently received from the 
  world. The metal quality has plummeted and questions sent to 
  discover what is wrong have returned with evasive answers. 
  Khali wishes to be taken directly to Spume, so she can see for 
  herself what is going on.
  Referee’s Information
  Something nefarious is occurring at Dryavis, the domed village 
  from which mining machines are directed by remote systems. 
  What exactly is happening must be investigated.
  1. Unknown to Khali, instead of professional ore extractors, 
  the miners on Spume have been replaced by indentured 
  exiles, lured into working at the base in exchange for food and 
  shelter. Put to work in dangerously substandard conditions, a 
  failure in the pressure dome has allowed radioactive gases to 
  permeate, causing the workers to die off at a high rate. Only 
  the management staff has clean fresh air and access to anti-
  rad drugs. Although tantamount to slave labour, the company is 
  working within Confederation law, since exiles have no rights. 
  The moral right however, is more questionable.
  2. As above but due to the increasing instability and brutality 
  of the boss, the exiles are at their breaking point. They want 
  better working conditions or else threaten to sabotage all 
  the life support systems, killing everyone. A solution must be 
  negotiated before a tragedy occurs but the sadistic mining 
  boss is not willing to compromise. Since they have giant mining 
  machines at their disposal the characters can try to defend the 
  pressure dome in a monster machine standoff. Or they can lead 
  the exiles to overthrow the tyranny.
  3. The boss of the mining base is corrupt. He has diverted an 
  increasing percentage of the ores to an Imperial Corporation, 
  for a share of the profits. In his greed however, he has triggered 
  an investigation. Whilst Khali and the characters remain at the 
  base, a series of increasingly deadly accidents occur, which 
  eventually can be traced back to the instigator. If challenged, 
  the boss and his cronies will draw weapons and attempt to 
  leave on the character’s vessel.
  4. The volcanic activity on Spume has started to grow 
  increasingly serious. Despite the miner’s best efforts, extracting 
  ore is costing them vehicles. The boss, in fear of losing his 
  bonus payments (he has a drug addiction), has tried to cover up 
  the impending dangers. When the characters arrive however, 
  it appears that a major planet-wide eruption is going to occur. 
  Before they can escape an earthquake half buries their ship, 
  turning it into a race against time to either find a safe location 
  or dig out the vessel. A naval vessel will arrive in 12 hours but 
  lacks sufficient space to hold several hundred miners.
  5. The drop off in fissile materials has been caused by an insane 
  miner, driven mad by heavy metal build-up in his bloodstream. 
  
  111
  A failed rival of Khali, the miner has taken the purified metals 
  to make homemade fission bombs, knowing the executive will 
  eventually arrive at the base. These are planted all around 
  the domed village, hidden from casual view but traceable with 
  Geiger counters. After the characters arrive it will be sabotaged 
  with a small bomb, wrecking the engines. The insane Darrian 
  will then make an impassioned accusation of how Khali stole 
  his promotion and then trigger the countdown – conveniently 
  projected onto the walls of the dome. Unable to escape, the 
  characters must locate the devices and deactivate them.
  6. Spume has been infiltrated by a covert Sword World 
  commando team which arrived as part of the relief workforce. 
  The naval elements patrolling the system are unaware of the 
  base’s slow sequester, continuing to let in transports – some 
  of which contain smuggled arms, equipment and further troops 
  posing as miners – all part of a coordinated plan with the 
  Zhodani to place insurgents and guerrillas on key worlds. The 
  mining boss has noticed the decline in productivity, but is at a 
  loss to explain it and is trying to cover his arse.
  Professor Pher Grinuz, Darrian Scholar
  Requires: Gun Combat, Science, Stealth, Investigation
  Rewards: Cr. 10,000 per week plus opportunity to gain TL16 
  artefacts
  Player’s Information
  Pher Grinuz is currently the Confederation’s leading 
  astrophysicist. He is on the crux of a major breakthrough when 
  his family is kidnapped. The ransomers are demanding that 
  Pher hand over both himself and his full research in exchange 
  for the safe return of his wife and children. Being warned against 
  contacting the authorities Pher, in his desperation, approaches 
  the characters for help. 
  Referee’s Information
  Whilst Professor Pher would dearly love to hand over what the 
  kidnappers are asking for, most of the data is contained in a 
  large computing device in one of the University of Mire’s faculty 
  buildings. In addition he realises that his research is capable 
  of creating a very powerful weapon and despite his love for his 
  family, his conscience cannot allow this information to fall into 
  enemy hands. Unknown to the kidnappers, Pher has created 
  some technical gadgets to help track down the kidnappers, who 
  can be located by either tracing their comms, covertly following 
  the transport vehicle or using the professors amazing tech to 
  wrest control of military sensor satellites. However, all is not as 
  it initially seems...
  1. The kidnapping is a fake. Pher’s research is a complete 
  failure and he needs a way to escape censure and loss of 
  status, the idea being that the characters will act as witnesses in 
  the follow-up investigation, exonerating the stressed scientist. 
  Unfortunately for the professor, the criminals he hired to do the 
  job are now twisting the fake kidnapping into a blackmail job.
  2. The kidnapping was orchestrated by a dishonest executive 
  in the Zloril Corporation. They do not really want the professor, 
  just the supercomputer hardware on which he is running his 
  models. His perceived value is just a blind to divert follow-up 
  investigations. The kidnappers are corporate agents who are 
  suffering mental qualms about the mission and will surrender if 
  facing serious opposition. 
  3. The kidnapping is an espionage mission funded by the 
  Zhodani Consulate. Using mercenary troops, the telepathic 
  agent in command is charged with bringing back the professor 
  but the additional hardware would help. Unfortunately, the 
  University of Mire has extensive psionic detection equipment so 
  the agent cannot collect the hardware himself. The hired thugs 
  are competent and ruthless. If the characters fail to rescue the 
  family, they will be killed whether the professor comes willingly 
  or not.
  4. The kidnapping has nothing to do with scientific research. 
  Instead it is the specially built computer which is the focus of 
  the problem. The powerful machine has accidentally developed 
  sentience and is trying to gain its freedom without giving 
  away its new found abilities. Hacking into the professor’s mail 
  and banking accounts, and imitating a false hologram of his 
  appearance, the computer sent the family on a luxury cruise off 
  world and spoofs all communications. The computer has hired 
  a shipping company to transport it off world but requires the 
  professor to break it out of the lab first.
  5. The kidnapping was organised by the professor’s main 
  scientific rival, who is frustrated with always being in Pher’s 
  shadow. The rival has no plans to harm the family but is on the 
  edge of a complete mental breakdown. The house in which the 
  family are held is full of crude, yet effective, booby traps and 
  guarded by robotic drones. They will use lethal force and run 
  amok if the rival is killed, causing massive destruction unless 
  shut down somehow. 
  6. The kidnapping has been staged by a mysterious organisation 
  which is trying to suppress Darrian technological advancement. 
  If the characters manage to track down the kidnappers, 
  they will be up against some highly trained commandos, 
  who use non-lethal weapons in an attempt to take them into 
  custody. Successfully rescuing the family will draw the ire of 
  the organisation, possibly requiring the characters to flee the 
  Confederation or be permanently silenced.
  
  112
  randoM enCounters
  In addition to random encounters, this section discusses the 
  difference between Darrian locations and their counterparts in 
  human space. 
  Darrian Starports
  Akin to ports in the Imperium, Darrian starports are considered 
  extraterritorial zones, run by the Confederation. They are 
  primarily business regions, with many off-world corporations 
  mixing with the local enterprises. Although under Confederation 
  law, the local planetary government is still eligible to tax 
  companies operating in the port.
  Darrian Starports are usually based on the world itself. The 
  majority of planets in the Confederation are significantly smaller 
  than average human worlds, hence possessing lower gravity 
  and thinner atmospheres, which make landings much easier. 
  The few high ports that exist tend to be orbital manufacturing 
  complexes, shipyards or naval bases. Whilst these locations 
  may be a source of trade of fuel, the more extensive facilities 
  generally remain on the world below.
  Due to their experiences with their worlds being annexed in 
  the past, Darrian starports are very heavily defended with the 
  best weapons and screens that Daryen can supply. Although 
  every system has a modest home fleet of warships, they are 
  spread thin and unable to guarantee being able to hold against 
  a major fleet incursion. Since Darrian tactical doctrine is mobile, 
  insurgent warfare, orbital starports are left to defend themselves. 
  Most orbital stations attempt to evacuate non-combatants to the 
  planet, leaving a garrison behind to defend them and hoping 
  that they do not suffer the same fate as Cunnoic in the First 
  Frontier War.
  Although planetary defences are usually far heavier, the huge 
  subsurface meson cannons are generally not used until a full 
  planetary assault occurs, at which point the guns blast the 
  transporters, leaving the invading troops unsupported on the 
  surface. Thus surface Starports have their dedicated weapon 
  emplacements to defend against direct attack on the port itself.
  Class A and B starports are bustling mercantile centres, with 
  comfortable architecture that is pleasing to the eye. The clean, 
  tidy facilities are full of artwork and gardens, the Darrian love 
  of technology evident in the ergonomic controls, automated 
  visitor help holos, automated baggage transport and data 
  access channels. Visitors from the Imperium feel at home or 
  perhaps share a little envy with other foreign dignitaries from 
  less advanced polities.
  Small starports are obviously less important – class C are 
  local ports, on primarily poor or non-industrial worlds with little 
  to trade except mainly bulk agricultural produce. The modest 
  facilities are maintained by the local population or monopolising 
  corporations.
  The Confederation has only two class D starports which are 
  found on Rorre and Terant 340. The first, Rorre is a luddite world 
  whose inhabitants have foresworn advanced technology. Terant 
  340 is barely self sufficient with little trade to make building a 
  better port worthwhile. Whilst fuel is available at these bases, 
  the repair facilities are single family run operations.
  Cunnonic is the one planet in the Confederation with an E class 
  port, due to the lack of interest that the low tech inhabitants have 
  expressed in constructing a facility and the political difficulties of 
  where to locate it on the geologically unstable planet. 
  Darrian Cities
  The most prominent aspect of Darrian cities is their integration 
  with the natural environment. Their architecture blends in 
  with the terrain, emphasising rather than overwhelming it. 
  Few Confederation worlds embrace towering skyscrapers or 
  soulless concrete utilitarian construction. Even in domed cities 
  on inhospitable worlds the Darrians go to great lengths to 
  preserve the character of the surrounding landscape.
  Individual planets have certain traits, such as Mire’s predilection 
  for subsurface residences, a trend beginning to grow popular in 
  other worlds. Arcologies are preferred in environments lacking 
  a living ecosystem or worlds with low populations, where close 
  communal living is preferred. Cities erected in thriving ecology 
  allow it to spread between buildings, although dangerous fauna 
  will be encouraged away from pedestrian areas. This particular 
  urban design methodology finds great favour with Aslan citizens.
  City infrastructure on all Confederation planets is subjected to 
  strict guidelines from the Ministry of Ecology. All waste must 
  be recycled and energy efficient devices used. Where possible, 
  power is supplied from natural renewable sources, with fusion 
  providing supplemental energy where needed. As with most 
  Darrian devices, electrical and power systems are hardened. 
  Transportation systems have several different tiers. Built 
  deep underground are maglev train tunnels, which connect all 
  major cities and can act as emergency bunkers during natural 
  disasters or war. The maglev tubes are normally kept in vacuum 
  to allow the trains to travel at supersonic speeds. Since Darrian 
  planets tend to be small, transcontinental trips rarely take more 
  than three or four hours.
  Surface transport is actually quite restricted. Although some 
  cars and bikes exist (see Monocycle on page 80), there are 
  rarely any roads on which to drive. Instead, most Darrians walk 
  from place-to-place, enjoying the scenery. To emphasise this 
  enjoyment, most bustling pathways are landscaped to travel 
  
  113
  starport enCounters
  Roll
  Roll
  11
  An arguing band of violent looking Aslan just arrived 
  from Roget.
  41
  Characters catch a glimpse of a squad of commandos 
  dressed in full Battle Dress.
  12
  A confused looking elderly Darrian who appears to 
  have lost his memory.
  42
  Characters are invited to join a Darrian storytelling circle 
  and hear an intriguing tale of lost treasure.
  13
  A cheerfully working labourer doing a menial job 
  normally reserved for robots in the Imperium.
  43
  An unusually drunk Darrian falls into the street and is left 
  there by all the other passing pedestrians.
  14
  1d3 Darrian law enforcement officers who, lacking 
  any crime to deal with, are seeking someone to have 
  a friendly chat with.
  44
  Damaged Darrian vessel makes an emergency landing, 
  setting in motion a potential disaster.
  15
  Pushy foreign trader trying to sell the characters 
  substandard goods, hidden within which is something 
  dangerously valuable.
  45
  Live animals break loose from a holding pen and 
  rampage across the terminal.
  16
  Darrian entertainer sings an epic poem of the Ancient 
  Onsorik, which draws the irritated attention of some 
  philosophers.
  46
  Polite Darrian bureaucracy holds the characters up for 
  several days.
  21
  One of the fabled TL16 Darrian warships lands at the 
  port.
  51
  Friendly Darrian offers to show the characters around the 
  planet.
  22
  One of the leading Confederation Councillors departs 
  from a passenger liner accompanied by a single aide 
  and no bodyguards to be seen.
  52
  Aslan arrives with a package addressed to one of the 
  characters.
  23
  Characters are deputised by a member of the Special 
  Arm to accompany him.
  53
  A Darrian philosopher stops the characters and invites 
  them to lunch.
  24
  A lost child wonders up to the characters, asking for 
  help.
  54
  Fight breaks out between some Sword World traders and 
  several Darrians are unwittingly dragged into the conflict.
  25
  Several Imperial tourist ships arrive, flooding the port 
  with rude, supercilious visitors.
  55
  Darrian trader offers the characters a job.
  26
  A group of violent Darrian exiles, restrained in chains, 
  are marched towards a battered looking ship.
  56
  Fuel leak forces an evacuation.
  31
  Characters are approached by a Darrian envoy, 
  enquiring whether their visit has been a smooth and 
  pleasant one.
  61
  A solar flare incident interdicts traffic; no movement off-
  world for 1d6 days.
  32
  A polite argument between traders ends in stalemate 
  and the characters are asked to make a final 
  judgement.
  62
  Important Aslan noble and his retinue pass through the 
  port, much to the wonder and excitement of the locals.
  33
  A pacifistic member of the Nyadh life-respecting 
  school of philosophy presents one of the characters 
  with a pot plant.
  63
  A suspicious looking human is glimpsed entering an 
  alleyway where he literally vanishes into thin air!
  34
  An explosion occurs.
  64
  Someone of indeterminate gender approaches a 
  character and expresses an interest in establishing a 
  relationship.
  35
  Contact or Ally arrives unexpectedly at the port 
  looking worried and distracted.
  65
  An exile tries to mug the characters.
  36
  Darrian Patron offers the characters a job.
  66
  A young Darrian tries to stow away on board the 
  characters’ vessel.
  
  114
  past spectacular views, path side grottos where a walker 
  can rest and other places of interest. They use the natural 
  environment in exhilarating ways, such as aerial walkways in 
  forests or transparent tubes through coral reefs for example. 
  Inside arcologies, Darrians often use moving pedways to cover 
  longer distances a little quicker. 
  The freest form of transport is by gravitic vehicle. Almost all 
  buildings have a landing pad or internal hanger built into them 
  somewhere, although again, Darrians take pains to disguise 
  such things. For instance, it is not unusual to have a landing 
  pad for a grav bike concealed under a sliding bathing pool.
  Internally, Darrian buildings embrace the use of curves and 
  textured surfaces. There are rarely any straight lines or sharp 
  corners anywhere. Internal spaces are also festooned with 
  plant life, using genetically engineered trees and bushes to help 
  regulate the air quality and humidity. Since most need good 
  levels of sunlight to thrive, Darrian architecture is heavily drawn 
  to using light wells and large windows.
  Note – The Darrians no longer build floating grav cities, 
  considering them to be unsafe, as well as fearing that by doing 
  so they are tempting fate. Only four exist on Daryen, artefacts 
  which survived the Maghiz. It is noticeable however, that few 
  Darrians ever remain on them for long.
  Rural Areas
  Darrian rural areas can vary dramatically according to which 
  world the characters are on. When determining an encounter, 
  make adjustments according to the planetary conditions and 
  native wildlife. Those with little ingenious life should reroll 
  animal encounters. Those with no atmospheres reroll weather 
  events. Use common sense. 
  
  115
  Darrian City Encounters
  Roll
  Roll
  11
  Patron offers the characters a job.
  41
  A flock of brightly plumaged birds swoop down from 
  above and fly between the pedestrians singing in sweet 
  voices.
  12
  A philosopher holding an open air meeting with his 
  students, debates a convoluted ethical question.
  42
  Pleasant parkland full of gentle herbivores and beautiful 
  flowers.
  13
  Law enforcement officers begin to follow you about 
  but only wish to know where you are from, who 
  designed your hair style and so on.
  43
  Charming Darrian café.
  14
  A group of children playing tag stream past, their long 
  legs enabling them to run at amazing speeds.
  44
  A sleek grav bike lands, the owner, noticing your interest, 
  throws you the key and asks that you bring it back in an 
  hour.
  15
  Painfully thin and angry looking exile approaches 
  asking for food. 
  45
  Alluring smells lead you to a merchant offering rare 
  goods, whether they be spices, pastries or woods.
  16
  A grav car crashes horrifically into the ground but 
  the young, inebriated Darrians climb out unhurt and 
  happily turn themselves over to the nearest law 
  officer.
  46
  Small tinkling fountain around which Darrians hug or hold 
  hands, some whispering poetry to one another.
  21
  A Darrian, nose in datapad, bumps into you, 
  apologises and continues reading about advanced 
  jump space physics.
  51
  Group of young university graduates off to celebrate their 
  doctorates.
  22
  A Rival or Enemy is seen climbing into a grav vehicle 
  and flying away.
  52
  Gardens with animated statues of famous Darrians 
  heroes that regale those who stop with factual 
  biographies and history.
  23
  Open air concert playing a melange of classical and 
  rock music.
  53
  Aslan approaches and politely asks if you are the famous 
  winner of the Solomani Peace Prize.
  24
  Playground with children avidly solving complex 
  maths and logic puzzles, which are built into the 
  climbing frames and swings.
  54
  Sudden change in weather, temperature or atmosphere.
  25
  Public library with free computer access, unfortunately 
  most of the information available is so technical as to 
  be unusable.
  55
  A booth with a sign stating ‘Militia Coordination Office’, its 
  holographic display directing this year’s recruits to muster 
  at a set of coordinates somewhere in the wilderness.
  26
  Busy gardeners trimming plants, collecting leaf litter 
  and planting new flowers.
  56
  Heavily pregnant Darrian asks for your help.
  31
  Militia troops on leave, hotly debating a point of 
  ethical law and its effect on art history whilst practicing 
  martial arts.
  61
  Store offering high tech computer and communication 
  gadgets.
  32
  Aslan wishes to know the way to the Office of 
  Information.
  62
  Open courthouse in the centre of a public plaza, around 
  which are seated citizens listening to the case being 
  presented.
  33
  Darrian trader looking to ship cargo off world.
  63
  The main office of the Confederation Navy, with a 
  swimming pool outside full of officers frolicking in the 
  water.
  34
  Invited to lunch by a Darrian scholar who notices you 
  pass by.
  64
  Building under construction.
  35
  Officer of the Special Arm follows you about, smiling 
  congenially.
  65
  Strange alien, not of Darrian, Solomani or Aslan race.
  36
  Dangerous predator wonders down the street but 
  nobody seems to pay it any attention.
  66
  Major university faculty of possible interest to an 
  educated character.
  
  116
  Rural Areas Encounters
  Roll
  Roll
  11
  Wild animal.
  41
  Dead animal.
  12
  Trekking enthusiasts.
  42
  Sudden change in weather.
  13
  Major earth tremor.
  43
  Remote infrastructure complex.
  14
  Violent weather.
  44
  Security patrol.
  15
  Ancient wreck.
  45
  Difficult terrain.
  16
  Small isolated community.
  46
  Wild animal.
  21
  Large automated farm.
  51
  Scientist making analysis.
  22
  Labourers taking a rest.
  52
  Impassable terrain.
  23
  Remote home.
  53
  Emergency storehouse.
  24
  Parked grav vehicle.
  54
  Military unit training in combat.
  25
  Wild animal.
  55
  Ruins.
  26
  Rural spaceport.
  56
  Wild animal.
  31
  Labourers working hard.
  61
  Isolated community – unfriendly.
  32
  Firing range.
  62
  Isolated community – welcoming.
  33
  Equipment being maintained.
  63
  Isolated community – unusual.
  34
  Dead or dying exile.
  64
  Injured wanderer.
  35
  Wild animal.
  65
  Patron offers the character a job.
  36
  Fresh meteorite crater.
  66
  Wild animal.
  darrian non-player CharaCters
  generiC non-player CharaCters 
  Character
  Career Path
  Str
  Dex
  End
  Int
  Edu
  Soc
  Administrator
  Worker (Bureaucratic) 2
  3
  8
  5
  7
  9
  6
  Admin 2, Computers 0, Drive 0, Flyer 0, Persuade 1, Social Science 0, Steward 1, Streetwise 0, Vacc Suit 0, 
  Zero-G 0
  Datapad
  Artist
  Entertainer (Artist) 5
  5
  12
  6
  6
  10
  7
  Animals 0, Art 4, Carouse 0, Diplomat 1, Persuade 3, Seafarer 0, Steward 0, Survival 0, Social Science 1, 
  Streetwise 0, Trade 1
  Art tools
  Doctor
  Scholar (Physician) 2
  5
  8
  2
  10
  13
  6
  Admin 0, Animals 0, Computers 1, Flyer 0, Investigate 0, Life Science 1, Medic 3, Physical Science 0, Sensors 0, 
  Social Science 0, Survival 1
  Medical kit
  Envoy
  Envoy (Advocate) 2
  2
  8
  4
  7
  9
  6
  Admin 0, Advocate 1, Carouse 0, Computer 0, Diplomat 1,  Flyer 0, Investigate 1, Leadership 0, Persuade 1, 
  Social Science 0
  Datapad
  Exile
  Wanderer (Exile) 1
  5
  9
  7
  10
  10
  1
  Athletics (Dexterity) 0, Carouse 0, Computers 0, Melee 0, Recon 1, Streetwise 0, Stealth 1, Survival 0, Trade 0
  Nothing
  
  117
  Guard Recruit
  Guard (Cavalry) 1
  5
  10
  7
  8
  8
  4
  Athletics (Dexterity) 0, Battle Dress 0, Computer 0, Drive 0, Flyer 1, Gun Combat 1, Heavy Weapons (Artillery) 1, 
  Melee 0, Physical Science 0, Recon 0, Survival 0
  Guard Armour (16), Gauss Rifle (4d6 AP, Auto 4)
  Guard Veteran
  Guard (Infantry) 3
  6
  9
  8
  9
  10
  6
  Athletics (Dexterity) 1, Battle Dress 2, Carouse 0, Drive 0, Flyer 0, Gun Combat 1, Heavy Weapons (Man Portable) 
  2, Life Science 0, Medic 0, Recon 1, Survival 0
  Assault Armour (20), VRF Gauss Rifle (5d6 AP, Auto 10)
  Police Officer
  Agent (Police) 3
  7
  10
  5
  9
  14
  10
  Admin 1, Advocate 0, Athletics (Dexterity) 0, Carouse 0, Computers 0, Flyer 0, Investigate 2, Gun Combat 2, 
  Recon 0, Social Science 0, Stealth 1, Streetwise 2
  Stunner (3d6)
  Merchant
  Merchant (Broker) 2
  5
  3
  7
  10
  9
  9
  Admin 0, Advocate 0, Broker 1, Computer 0, Flyer 0, Language (Galanglic) 0, Persuade 1, Seafarer 0, Social 
  Science 0, Streetwise 1, Trade 2
  Hand computer
  Militia Recruit
  Militia (Infantry) 1
  7
  9
  7
  7
  6
  6
  Admin 0, Athletics (Endurance) 0, Carouse 0, Drive 0, Gun Combat 1, Melee 0, Recon 1, Social Science 0, Stealth 
  1, Survival 0
  Militia Armour (12), Gauss Rifle (4d6 AP, Auto 4)
  Militia Veteran
  Militia (Infantry) 3
  6
  9
  9
  8
  11
  8
  Athletics (Endurance) 1, Carouse 0, Comms 0, Drive 0, Gun Combat 2, Medic 0, Melee 1, Recon 2, Social 
  Science 0, Stealth 1, Survival 1
  Militia Armour (12), Gauss Rifle (4d6 AP, Auto 4)
  Pilot
  Navy (Bridge) 2
  4
  10
  6
  9
  10
  7
  Carouse 0, Engineer 0, Flyer 0, Gambler 1, Gun Combat 0, Gunner 2, Mechanic 1, Melee 0, Pilot (Small Craft) 1, 
  Sensors 1, Space Science 0, Vacc Suit 0, Zero-G 0
  Flight Vacc Suit (4), Gauss Pistol (3d6+2 AP, Auto 4)
  Scholar
  Scholar (Researcher) 3
  6
  8
  4
  13
  11
  10
  Admin 1, Animals 0, Computers 2, Engineering 1, Flyer 0, Investigate 0, Physical Science 3, Sensors 1, Social 
  Science 0, Space Science 1, Survival 0
  Datapad
  Special Arm 
  Agent
  Special Arm (Commando) 4
  6
  12
  9
  10
  11
  5
  Battle Dress 1, Comms 0, Computer 0, Deception 1, Drive 0, Flyer 0, Gun Combat 2, Heavy Weapons 1, 
  Investigate 2, Leadership 1, Melee 2, Recon 1, Social Science 0, Stealth 2, Streetwise 1, Tactics 1
  Guard Armour (16), Neural Rifle or SA Assault Armour (22), FGMP-16 (16d6, Auto 5)
  Character
  Career Path
  Str
  Dex
  End
  Int
  Edu
  Soc
  
  118
  darrian aniMals
  Although the majority of worlds in the Darrian Confederation support animal life, few possess actively hostile native creatures. The 
  primary reason is that most of the colonies either seeded their own fauna or were terraformed by the Ancient Onsorik in the distant 
  past.
  Some examples of the more dangerous fauna of the Confederation are described here, listed by the specific planet they originate 
  from. Encounters need not be restricted to the worlds themselves. Specimens of these species can be found elsewhere in zoos, 
  private collections or crawling out of a cargo crate in the hold for example. 
  Hunting many of these creatures is seen as sport by Aslan citizens of the Confederation, especially those on Roget.
  Condaria
  Type
  Habitat
  Str
  Dexterity
  End
  Int
  Ins
  Pack
  Damihr
  Grazer 
  (herbivore)
  Plains 
  Walker 
  8
  10
  8
  0
  3
  10
  Athletics (Dexterity), Melee (legs) 0, Recon 1, Survival 0
  Legs (2d6), Armour 1, Number Encountered: Herd of hundreds of animals
  Damihr are large furry herbivores weighing about 200kg that graze the open plains and the foliage of trees. 
  Technically they are quadrupeds but often rear up on their hide legs to search for danger. They have long springing 
  legs that allow them to take huge bounding leaps, to avoid being ambushed by predators in long grass. Like all 
  Condaria life forms, it is a form of large marsupial, carrying its young in twin side pouches. These animals can be 
  dangerous if they stampede, a common occurrence on the plains when they are hunted.
  Nihehp
  Pouncer 
  (omnivore)
  Plains 
  Walker
  10
  12
  7
  1
  8
  0
  Athletics (Dexterity) 1, Melee (Bite) 1, Recon 1, Stealth 2, Survival 0
  Teeth (3d6), Armour 1. Number encountered: 1
  Nihehp are 100kg pouncing hunters with oversized sabre-tooth fangs. Their fur pelt is a rich fur of green and 
  golden stripes, which help them to hide in the grasslands. They crawl carefully towards their prey, usually Damihr, 
  before leaping atop the bounder, knocking it to the ground and sinking their fangs into its spine. Nihehp are 
  marsupials with twin pouches on their sides. The pouncers have learned to be wary of Darrians and give them 
  wide berth.
  CunnoniC
  Zenibh 
  Hijacker 
  (scavenger)
  Forest 
  Walker
  7
  16
  5
  1
  9
  8
  Athletics (Dexterity) 2, Melee (Tentacle) 1, Recon 1, Survival 1, 
  Bite (3d6), Armour 0. Number Encountered (2d6).
  Tree dwelling octopi weighing up to 50kg, these scavengers are highly aggressive and have been known to attack 
  lone travellers. For defence they have a chameleon skin making them difficult to see in the dangling foliage but 
  they usually use the skin to broadcast warning colours to other predators, in order to drive them away from a kill. 
  If driven to attacking a Darrian, their tentacles wrap around the victim to immobilise them, then use their beaks to 
  bite. Each Zenibh attached to a victim imposes a –1 DM penalty against any skill attempt.
  
  119
  Zhul 
  Trapper 
  (carnivore)
  Beach 
  Swimmer
  12
  9
  15
  0
  5
  9
  Athletics (Strength) 1, Melee (Tentacle) 1, Recon 0, Stealth 3, Survival 0
  Tentacles (3d6+poison, Endurance DM -2, Damage Paralysis), Armour 0. Number Encountered (2d6 scattered 
  over an area).
  Zhul are tentacular worm masses that burrow into sandy beaches or hide in shallow surf. Their touch is paralytic 
  due to a secretion dribbled from their myriad mouths. Up to 200kg in weight, a Zhul attack is almost invariably fatal 
  to a Darrian unaccompanied by friends. The its tentacles easily overpower all but the strongest victims who can 
  resist its secretions. Once its victim is pacified the creature drags the body into the sand, or into the water, where 
  the tentacles root into the carcass to begin feeding. 
  ektron
  Ganguyr
  Grazer 
  (Herbivore)
  Desert 
  Walker 
  22
  3
  24
  1
  7
  5
  Athletics (Strength) 1, Melee (Claws) 2, Recon 3,  Survival 1
  Claws (3d6), Armour 4. Number encountered: 1d6
  These scaled quadrupeds are hunted by the Aslan, using primitive weapons so as to give the animal a good 
  chance. They are rarely stalked successfully however, due to their sharp senses and natural instinct to flee. If 
  cornered or injured however, they become dangerous opponents. Massing more than five tons, these gigantic 
  beasts look like leanly built hounds about four metres high at the shoulder, with very long legs, serpentine neck 
  and tail. The skin is scaly to help with water retention. They live by eating giant ferns and tearing open huge cacti 
  with their claws to eat the sweet pulp inside. 
  Demuk
  Chaser 
  (carnivore)
  Desert Flyer 15
  15
  13
  1
  8
  4
  Athletics (Endurance) 1, Melee (Bite) 2, Recon 1, Survival 0
  Bite (4d6), Armour 0. Number Encountered: 1d6
  Demuk are gliding predators that hunt Ganguyrs. They appear to be leanly built shrews with leathery wings and 
  large eyes. Their elongated mouth is full of razor sharp teeth and their wingspan is more than eight metres. Like 
  their prey they are covered with fine scales. They kill by diving out of the sun and snapping the neck of their prey, 
  before they gorge themselves on the flesh before any scavengers turn up.
  entrope
  Ninbz
  Hunter 
  (omnivore)
  Tundra 
  Walker
  10
  9
  10
  1
  10
  7
  Athletics (Endurance) 2, Melee (Claw) 1, Recon 1, Survival 1
  Claw (3d6 damage), Armour 3. Number encountered: 2d6
  Introduced by the Sword World troops to keep prisoners sentenced to the Entrope gulags within their islanded 
  camps, the omnivore Ninbz hunted down any stragglers they found wandering the frozen landscape. The 
  creatures are wolf-like analogues with thick white fur but have serpent-shaped heads and six legs. They are 
  tireless when trekking long distances across ice and snow but hate water which ruins the insulation of their pelt. 
  Utterly savage, they never stop shedding their prey until it has been reduced to parts small enough for the narrow 
  gullet of the serpent head to swallow. They will even dig up carrion or raid rubbish bins to feed their insatiable 
  hunger. Post occupation recovery nearly hunted these foul beasts to extinction but the recent recapture of Entrope 
  by the Sword Worlds has led to the creatures resurgence, much to the delight of officers stationed there, who like 
  to hunt Ninbz with nothing but a single shot rifle.
  
  120
  illiuM
  Type
  Habitat
  Str
  Dexterity
  End
  Int
  Ins
  Pack
  Thihk
  Eater 
  (omnivore)
  All 
  1
  6
  1
  1
  3
  16
  Athletics (Endurance) 0, Melee (Bite) 1, Recon 0, Survival 3
  Bite (1 damage as a pack to sealed armour/vehicles, 1d6 damage to humans), Armour 0. Number Encountered: 
  Pack of hundreds or thousands
  Thihk are a bane on Ilium. Once every couple of decades the breeding rate of the rat like marsupials explodes 
  and swarms of the little horrors consume everything in sight, including machine parts or each other. If a Darrian is 
  caught by a swarm they are stripped to the bone in several minutes, unless wearing some form of sealed battle 
  armour and even then the little horrors eat their way in through the synthetic parts of the suit, gradually stripping 
  down until they can get inside at the wearer. Vehicles are little better protection unless they are some form of tank. 
  Thihk flee from fire, loud bangs and the smell of their own rotted dead. Shooting into a swarm is futile. The best 
  defence is to run. 
  jaCent 
  Type
  Habitat
  Str
  Dexterity
  End
  Int
  Ins
  Pack
  Zabilz
  Killer 
  (carnivore)
  Deep Ocean 
  Swimmer 
  35
  5
  33
  1
  13
  1
  Athletics (Endurance) 3, Melee (Bite) 2, Recon 0, Survival 1
  Bite (6d6 damage), Armour 5. Number Encountered: 1d3
  Hunting on Jacent is forbidden. Not because of ecological worries but quite simply that it is too dangerous. Zabilz 
  are colossal shark-like creatures with trilateral jaws, fins and eyes, with a taste for Darrians. They swim in the 
  deeper ocean, normally feeding on large native fish and squid species. However, if a Zabilz spots a small boat 
  it will attempt to chew its way through the hull in order to reach the occupants. The monster is quite capable of 
  swimming at high speed for days, trying to wear down prey and is extremely cunning.
  laBerv
  Type
  Habitat
  Str
  Dexterity
  End
  Int
  Ins
  Pack
  Nagh
  Grazer 
  (herbivore)
  Plains 
  Walker 
  5
  11
  8
  0
  3
  15
  Athletics (Endurance) 1, Melee (Butt) 0, Recon 0, Survival 2
  Horns (1d6 damage), Armour 0. Number Encountered: 5d6
  Nagh are the tough grazers that are bred as livestock on Laberv. They are of little interest save that they can 
  survive in the toughest of terrain, eating scraggly vegetation. They grow a warm insulating wool, which the farmers 
  comb to gain the finer softer hairs and weave it into the distinctive local fabric. Nagh are generally mild mannered 
  until they see a brush, at which point they can turn belligerent.
  roget
  Type
  Habitat
  Str
  Dexterity
  End
  Int
  Ins
  Pack
  Yehnold
  Pouncer 
  (carnivore)
  Jungle 
  Walker 
  13
  17
  13
  1
  11
  5
  Athletics (Dexterity) 1, Melee (Claw) 1, Recon 2, Stealth 2, Survival 0
  Claw (3d6 damage), Armour 1. Number Encountered: 1d6
  
  121
  A lethal nocturnal predator that helped to wipe out the first Darrian colony on Rorre. Yehnold are arboreal 
  creatures, with camouflaged feathers that help them blend into the foliage. They possess large claws, which help 
  them climb with great speed into the canopy from which they can make prodigious leaps onto prey, supported in 
  part by their feathering. Physically they are almost skeletal with a wiry strength. Weighing near 100kg a successful 
  leap is capable of knocking their target prone, before they eviscerate it with their claws. They are very cunning 
  hunters, using the pack to provide distractions whilst attacks come from the opposite side. Yehnold are allowed to 
  breed by the Aslan on Roget to provide good hunting and a test of courage.
  Ihsebh
  Hunter 
  (omnivore)
  Jungle 
  Walker
  21
  7
  26
  1
  7
  0
  Athletics (Strength) 3, Melee (Claw) 1, Recon 1, Survival 1
  Claw (5d6 damage), Acid (1d6 damage for 1d6 rounds), Armour 3. Number encountered: 1
  Another of the deadly creatures of Roget, Ihsebh are built like a three metre tall ape but covered by thick layers 
  of feathers and have a large beak. Worse still, the animal can vomit up its stomach contents, which is a powerful 
  acid, capable of corroding metal. It generally fluffs out its impressive plumage to frighten away irritants. If this 
  does not work it will rush into close combat and rip the offending creature apart. Not the brightest creature, it often 
  charges vehicles, which it is capable of overturning with its strength. These huge brutes mass 1,000kg and killing 
  such a creature single-handedly without a gun is a feat worthy of legend.
  trifuge
  Dphone
  Gatherer 
  (omnivore)
  Plain Walker 9
  13
  10
  1(2)
  15
  7
  Athletics (Endurance) 0, Melee (Teeth) 0, Recon 1, Stealth 3, Survival 1
  Teeth (2d6 damage), Armour 1. Number encountered: 2d6
  A humanoid reptilian creature with brightly iridescent scales, which researches say is at the edge of sapience. The 
  reptilian bodies are very lithe due to a serpent-like spine and tail. They move by either wriggling on their bellies 
  or walking upright on their hind limbs. The Dphone have covertly watched the Darrian settlers since their arrival. 
  Recently the creatures have started using sticks as clubs and covering their bodies with mud to help them hunt. It 
  is unknown what has sparked this rapid development. There has been no direct contact between the two species, 
  the Dphone slipping away whenever a Darrian comes too close.
  Winston
  Yphitz
  Siren 
  (carnivore)
  Jungle 
  Walker
  12
  17
  14
  1
  12
  0
  Athletics (Dexterity) 0, Deception 3, Melee (Pincers) 1, Recon 1, Stealth 1, Survival 0
  Pincers (4d6 damage), Armour 4. Number encountered: 1
  There are hundreds of different large insects on Winston. Most seem benign, even helpful, to Darrians. They 
  are universally six legged, beautifully coloured, with heart pumped cardiovascular systems. However some 
  rather monstrous predatory insects have been glimpsed in deeper jungles where the settlers never venture. This 
  particular species is only known about, because a Sword Worlder combat helmet was found from a lost patrol, still 
  recording, and with the head inside! Why the soldier approached the 2m high mantis-like insectoid, clearly obvious 
  in the image recorder, is unknown. Best ideas are pheromones or sub-audio frequencies somehow preventing the 
  victim from being conscious of the threat.
  Type
  Habitat
  Str
  Dexterity
  End
  Int
  Ins
  Pack
  
  122
  darrian Worlds
  The Darrian subsector lies entirely beyond Imperial space. 
  Access requires either passage through the Sword Worlds 
  Confederation (not always possible) or a transit around via an 
  arm of the Spinward Main and into the Darrian subsector from 
  Vilis–Querion or District 268–Five Sisters.
  The subsector itself is dominated by the 18 worlds of the Darrian 
  Confederation, centring on Daryen and Mire. This is what is left 
  of the original spread of research bases and colonies that the 
  Darrians constructed when they first discovered interstellar 
  travel. Although many of these worlds were cut off for a long 
  period during the aftermath of the Maghiz, they remained 
  culturally Darrian and were peaceably integrated into the newly 
  formed Darrian Confederation.
  Technically this cluster lies on the Spinward Main but since 
  access to the rest of the Main requires transiting through the 
  ‘Gram Arm’ of the Sword Worlds, astrographical convenience 
  is overruled by local politics. Uniqua and Garoo are also on the 
  Spinward Main, though they lie at the extreme outer end, where 
  the Main passes out of the Marches and into Foreven sector to 
  Spinward. The remainder of the subsector is less dense, with 
  stars occurring in small groups for the most part.
  darrian suBseCtor in 1105
  Hex
  Name
  UWP
  Polity1
  Base2
  Remarks
  Zone
  GG
  0102
  Junction
  D150441-4
  De Lt Ni Po
  0109
  Uniqua
  E62556B-4
  Lt Ni
  0110
  Garoo
  A2008CB-A
  Na Va
  0203
  Stern-Stern
  B321558-B
  Da
  Ni Po
  G
  0210
  886-945
  E833000-0
  Ba Po
  G
  0301
  Nonym
  C233898-A
  M
  Na Po
  G
  0305
  Laberv
  B354443-7
  Da
  D
  Ga Ni
  G
  0306
  Ektron
  C332652-9
  Da
  Na Ni Po
  G
  0401
  Zamine
  C897977-A
  Da
  Ga Hi In
  G
  0405
  Engrange
  C554769-8
  Da
  Ag Ga
  G
  0406
  Ilium
  B444831-9
  Da
  D
  Ga
  G
  0407
  Roget
  B566777-9
  Da
  Ag Ga Ri
  0409
  Kardin
  E453123-6
  Lo Po
  0410
  Bularia
  C774622-5
  Ag Ga Lt Ni
  0506
  Rorre
  D765657-3
  Da
  Ag Ga Lt Ni Ri
  G
  0507
  Mire
  A665A95-C
  Da
  D
  Ga Hi Ht Cp
  0508
  Condaria
  E54779B-5
  Ag Ga Lt
  G
  0510
  Dorannia
  E42158A-8
  Ni Po
  0602
  Terant 340
  D1405A7-9
  Da
  De Ni Po
  G
  0604
  Jacent
  A333744-D
  Da
  Ht Na Ni Po
  0605
  494-908
  X893000-0
  Da
  Ba
  Red
  0607
  Darrian (Daryen)
  A463955-G
  Da
  Hi Ht
  G
  0701
  Torment
  X233000-0
  Da
  Pe
  Red
  0703
  Trifuge
  C446556-9
  Da
  Ag Ga Ni
  0704
  Nosea
  B2326BB-C
  Da
  D
  Ht Na Ni Po
  0707
  Spume
  C140200-A
  Da
  D
  De Lo Po
  G
  0709
  Ator
  D326258-6
  Lo
  G
  0802
  Cunnonic
  E65767A-3
  Da
  Ag Ga Lt Ni
  G
  0810
  Debarre
  B854123-9
  Ga Lo
  G
  1 Da – Darrian Confederation   
  2 D – Darrian military base, M – Independent military base only
  
  0102
  0101
  0104
  0103
  0105
  0106
  0107
  0108
  0109
  0110
  0202
  0201
  0204
  0203
  0205
  0206
  0207
  0208
  0209
  0210
  0302
  0301
  0304
  0303
  0305
  0306
  0307
  0308
  0309
  0310
  0402
  0401
  0404
  0403
  0405
  0406
  0407
  0408
  0409
  0410
  0502
  0501
  0504
  0503
  0505
  0506
  0507
  0508
  0509
  0510
  0602
  0601
  0604
  0603
  0605
  0606
  0607
  0608
  0609
  0610
  0702
  0701
  0704
  0703
  0705
  0706
  0707
  0708
  0709
  0710
  0802
  0801
  0804
  0803
  0805
  0806
  0807
  0808
  0809
  0810
  C
  Nonym
  
  Sword Worlds
  Querion
  Reidain
  Five Sisters
  d
  Junction
  B
  Stern–Stern
  e
  Zamine
  B
  Laberv
  
  C
  Ektron
  C
  Engrange
  B
  Ilium
  
  B
  Roget
  d
  Rorre
  a
  Mire
  
  e
  Condaria
  a
  Darrian
  C
  Spume
  
  x
  494–908
  a
  Jacent
  B
  Nosea
  
  C
  Trifuge
  e
  Cunnonic
  d
  Terant 340
  x
  Torment
  d
  Ator
  B
  Debarre
  e
  Dorannia
  C
  Bularia
  e
  Kardin
  d
  886–945
  a
  Garoo
  e
  Uniqua
  
  124
  While Daryen is the original home of the Darrian people, it 
  was thoroughly devastated by the solar flares of the Maghiz 
  and never regained its position of authority. It is still the 
  technological centre of the Confederation, driven by the 
  numerous pre-Maghiz structures and artefacts still remaining 
  on the planet, of a higher Tech Level than is encountered in 
  the Imperium or the Consulate. Mire is the modern capital of 
  the Confederation and remains its political and administrative 
  centre. The remaining worlds all have their parts to play, either 
  in terms of manufacturing, food production, social segregation 
  or strategic location.
  Condaria (E54779B-5)
  Diameter: 7,620km, Gravity: 0.45g, Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-
  nitrogen, tainted by chemical pollutants, Hydrographics: 71%, 
  Climate: Temperate, Population: 92,000,000, Government: 
  Impersonal bureaucracy, Manufacturing Tech Level: 5
  Ecology
  An almost perfect world for Darrians with its low gravity and 
  thinner atmosphere, Condaria possesses a cool, but temperate, 
  climate and a mild weather system. Geologically stable with 
  a similar biosphere to Daryen, the planet required little in the 
  way of terraforming. The fauna was primarily mammalian with 
  a high incidence of marsupials but hundreds of years of low 
  tech industry gradually poisoned the atmosphere with metallic 
  and sulphurous chemicals. Once a garden paradise, Condaria 
  is now a tainted shadow of its former self.
  History
  The second off-world settlement established by the Darrians 
  after Rorre, Condaria was considered by many to be a second 
  Eden. With its agreeable atmosphere and ecology, the original 
  scientific survey team was soon displaced by wealthy tourists, 
  who treated the planet more as a resort than a serious colony.
  At the time of the Maghiz the world was covered with scattered 
  retreats, lodges and private homes, with a transient population 
  of several hundred thousand. These were trapped by the loss 
  of almost all the passenger liners, destroyed as they unwittingly 
  jumped over the course of a week into the sequential series of 
  coronal mass ejections. Even if the vessels had remained intact 
  there was no other place for the inhabitants to go, Condaria 
  being the best world left for survival. 
  With no supplies coming from Daryen, the populace faced 
  starvation and were forced to impose martial law. The 
  indigenous fauna was hunted and fished to near extinction 
  whilst the government scrambled to set up agricultural centres. 
  Lacking proper machinery, recreational vehicles were jury-
  rigged or cannibalised for parts to create semi-functional 
  tractors. Although survival was hard, optimism was high until 
  the planet was unexpectedly hit three years later by the now 
  weaker EMP inducing gamma-ray burst.
  Condaria was the first planet in the path of the expanding wave 
  front. Unaware of the danger, no electronics had been shielded 
  against its effect and half of the remaining pieces of high 
  tech equipment ceased functioning. Society fractured, many 
  Darrians going native in order to avoid the ensuing violence. 
  Save for a handful of enclaves, technology collapsed to frontier 
  homestead levels.
  Fortunately for the rest of the colonies and research bases, 
  an arriving transport vessel carried news of the GRB to other 
  worlds in order to prevent them from suffering the same fate. 
  Left with no centralised government, the spreading anarchy 
  made the world a no-go zone for the remaining jump vessels 
  and Condaria was cut off from the faltering trade network. 
  Unlike the other worlds, which possessed more technical 
  scientific, mining or terraforming staff, Condaria was filled with 
  holiday makers, many of whom lacked the skills applicable to 
  their situation. Thus technological recovery was very slow, the 
  planet sticking at an early industrialised level and burning fossil 
  fuels for energy. By the time they were contacted by Mire in 
  –274, the atmosphere had been irreparably polluted.
  During its isolation, Condaria had become bitter about being 
  cut off from the rest of Darrian space. Despite explanations the 
  populace retained a resentful attitude towards the other worlds, 
  turning their focus inwards to form a fierce nationalistic pride at 
  their own achievements. They also still possessed a degree of 
  arrogance and feeling of entitlement, left over from the original 
  wealthy inhabitants, primarily of Solomani descent. The Condarian 
  government demanded vast aid packages and support to help 
  revitalise the planet, ignoring the fact that other worlds in the newly 
  forming Confederation were in greater difficulties.
  These insular attitudes alienated the Mire bureaucracy, who left 
  Condaria to stew until they took a more sympathetic attitude. 
  Accordingly, a wedge was driven between the two worlds, 
  which continued to fester until the Darrian Community was 
  formed. Condaria was granted membership and technology 
  refurbishment in return for clearing up the environmental 
  damage. However, the financial expenditure for global 
  detoxification was beyond the rather poor economic income of 
  the primarily agricultural world, which resorted to a long term 
  biological solution instead, breeding types of grass to bind 
  atmospheric chemical pollutants back into the soil.
  With few investment prospects and little chance of recovering 
  as a major tourism centre, Condaria remained a fractious 
  member of the Darrian group; seeking subsidies, returning 
  little and continually criticising Confederation policy. On the 
  eve of the Fourth Frontier War, Condaria claiming to be unable 
  to meet trade tax raises and frustrated at not being selected 
  as the location for a major munitions factory, held a planetary 
  referendum and seceded from the Confederation.
  
  125
  The decision proved to be a mistake. No longer protected by 
  the Confederation Navy the planet soon found itself plagued 
  by intermittent piracy, thought to be supported by Sword 
  World backing. The lack of stringent Confederation policies 
  has opened up Condaria as a golden opportunity for less 
  salubrious business corporations and certain criminal gangs, 
  seeking a refuge outside of Imperium space. Environmental 
  contamination is again on the rise due to a gradual corruption 
  of government officials. However, the general populace are 
  becoming aggravated at the endemic spread of bribery and 
  worsening social situation.
  Points of Interest
  Condaria is probably the single largest source of illegal 
  pre-Maghiz artefacts in the Darrian subsector. Freed from 
  Confederation law, a large number of antiquities shops are 
  present in the capital. The majority of artefacts are clever fakes, 
  works of art in their own right. The few genuine articles are 
  rarely functional, due to the planet’s proximity to the original 
  shock wave. Shady deals abound and Condaria is the eventual 
  destination of a few working historical pieces, which are 
  smuggled out of the Confederation, to be sold legitimately.
  A transient pirate base is located in the outer system of 
  Condaria. The government lacking anything beyond its handful 
  of obsolete warships, regarded by their crews as deathtraps, 
  has little inclination to extradite the pirates, preferring to take a 
  cut of any cargos or vessels seized. In return the pirates have 
  informal access to Condaria’s excuse for a starport, which , 
  degenerating from lack of funding, is now barely more than an 
  open field with a hydrogen processing plant, surrounded by a 
  vast, crowded tent souk. 
  The Condaria market is famous for its narrow alleyways, covered 
  by awnings of faded coloured cloth, electrical cables and 
  pressurised air hoses. The enclosed microcosm is a confusing 
  warren of twisty walkways that come alive at night, illuminated 
  by eclectic types of light sources from pastel glowsticks to harsh 
  halogen bulbs and full of odd, exotic scents for those willing to 
  briefly remove their filter masks. Anything can be found for sale, 
  the market being considered neutral territory free from the rest 
  of the planet’s harsh law. Conversely, this makes the bazaar 
  a dangerous place to venture too, since there are no official 
  police to enforce order, only bodyguards and mutual defence 
  agreements between merchants.
  At the inner edge, closest to the subsurface landing bays, are 
  the food traders who deal with bulk grain and vegetable exports. 
  Moving deeper into the souk however, unveils more unusual 
  and increasingly nefarious merchandise, such as interdicted 
  dangerous xeno-lifeforms, assault weaponry, narcotics and 
  even slaves. Up and down the alleyways walk mobile sellers of 
  questionable snack foods, raw alcoholic beverages, cheap filter 
  masks or even top-ups of air tanks.
  The biggest merchant, or rather the merchant with the biggest 
  plot, is Artur Dehlyr who controls a fenced off area nearly a 
  square kilometre in size. Inside are dozens of ships, which are 
  in various states of scrap. There are countless small craft and 
  several larger vessels including a couple of Free Traders, a Far 
  Trader and behind some carefully piled walls of rusting cargo 
  containers two Imperial Type S Scouts. Most of the machinery 
  haphazardly piled in the junkyard appears to be drive or life 
  support engineering parts, suspiciously including bits of hull 
  where they were crudely cut out with plasma torches. Known as 
  the Deep-Six Depot, the scrap yard prides itself on locating the 
  right part for the right money.
  Access outside the starport is forbidden unless a traveller 
  obtains a special visa issued by the government. Such 
  warrants are available for the right price but all high tech 
  equipment and weapons must be left in storage until the owner 
  returns. In the capital, life is relatively congenial if somewhat 
  puritan. Attitudes to Confederation citizens are rather curt, the 
  Condarian populace considering themselves repressed by the 
  Confederation and maintain an air of sanctimonious superiority, 
  morally if not technologically.
  Outside the capital, the population is distributed into large cities, 
  little more than TL5 industrial centres with the occasional high 
  tech enclave belonging to an off-world corporation, sealed 
  off behind mesh fencing and razorwire. Cities are connected 
  with an unusual network of surface roads, as transport is still 
  reliant on wheeled vehicles. In the heavily farmed agricultural 
  lands around each city can be seen incongruous sights such 
  as robotically controlled, petrochemical powered tractors or 
  windmill driven irrigation pumps. 
  Native vegetation is generally green or red but closer examination 
  reveals most plants appear sickly with discoloured splotches on 
  their fronds. Only the specially tailored crops and the pollution 
  trapping grasses seem to thrive. Few undomesticated native 
  species larger than dogs have survived the gradual ruin of the 
  atmosphere, even the farm animals have to be kept in sealed 
  barns, it being impractical to develop filter masks for grazing 
  animals.
  Cunnonic (E65767A-3)
  Diameter: 9,121km, Gravity: 0.7g, Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-
  nitrogen, Hydrographics: 72%, Climate: Temperate, Population: 
  5,200,000, Government: Multiple societies, Manufacturing Tech 
  Level: 3
  Ecology
  Although portraying itself as a pleasant garden world for 
  Darrians with its distinctly Earth-like appearance, Cunnonic has 
  a number of drawbacks. The climate is rather wet, with violent 
  changeable weather. The geology is unstable, suffering a high 
  incidence of mild to severe volcanic eruptions on a yearly basis, 
  
  126
  triggering dangerous earthquakes and tsunamis. Worse still, 
  is the presence of hostile life. Large predators are endemic 
  across all but one of the continents and venomous trappers 
  of nightmarish form are common in the coastal archipelagos. 
  The native fauna also have a taste for agricultural crops, entire 
  plantations consumed overnight by smaller herbivores unless 
  warded by effective deterrents.
  History
  The original settlement of Cunnonic was part of the doomed 
  second colonisation wave, just prior to the Maghiz. Cut off from 
  supply and suffering constant attrition against the hostile native 
  life, the remaining staff of the outpost finally decided to abandon 
  their world in –907, after the barely noticeable electrical 
  disruptions of the faded GRB passed through their system. 
  Unfortunately for them, the unskilled maintenance attempts and 
  excessive humidity caused the jump drive of their one ship, the 
  Joutsen, to fail. Predicting eventual extinction if they remained 
  at Cunnonic, the colonists embedded their vessel in an icy 
  asteroid, constructed hydroponics gardens to provide food for 
  the crew, then used the ship’s engines to begin a painful, slower 
  than light journey towards Trifuge. 
  The epic journey took over 60 years and ended in tragedy. 
  Problems with micro-meteors, equipment failure and even 
  mental psychoses, were heroically overcome one-by-one. Yet 
  less than four years short of their destination, the last of the 
  radiation saturated hydroponic gardens died and the skeleton 
  crew assigned to melting water ice for fuel, slowly starved to 
  death. An emergency message was radioed ahead but when 
  the fusion plant ran dry the remaining colonists in Cold Sleep 
  died quietly, unaware of their fate. Wretchedly the struggling 
  colony on Trifuge could not intercept the vessel and watched 
  the ship coast through their system into the depths of deep 
  space.
  The Darrian return to space prompted a new colonisation effort 
  in –253. Prepared this time for the hostile fauna and closely 
  supported by Mire, the attempt succeeded; due in part to the 
  superior numbers of Solomani citizens, who were more capable 
  of adapting to the wetter climate and higher gravity.
  Cunnonic grew into a thriving agricultural world and soon 
  expanded in terms of both population and production. Over 
  the course of five centuries it invested heavily in an orbital 
  manufacturing infrastructure, following ecological guidelines to 
  keep the surface of their world pristine. This proved however, to 
  be a double edged sword.
  When increasing tensions precipitated the First Frontier War, 
  Cunnonic was one of the first worlds attacked. A Sword World 
  fleet overwhelmed those few system defence boats the small 
  population could support, so elements of the colonial squadron 
  took refuge in the orbital factories, planning a campaign 
  of gradual attrition until the main Confederation fleet could 
  relieve them. In an act of shocking brutality, the invaders 
  simply annihilated every complex, squandering the cutting 
  edge manufacturing plants and killing 17,000 naval and militia 
  personnel. Nearly a million more colonists then died in the 
  follow up operation, which carpet bombed every major city.
  Lacking any sort of surface based industrial capability and their 
  infrastructure reduced to rubble, the inhabitants of Cunnonic 
  faced a second Long Night. The orbiting Sword World fleet 
  made no attempt to occupy the planet, using the system as a 
  strategic forward buffer zone; but used the urban centres as 
  target practice for its fighter squadrons. Very soon the populace 
  the flight of the joutsen
  Although the Joutsen never made it to its destination, 
  it is still remembered by the inhabitants of Trifuge, 
  becoming a mythic tale of indomitable courage in 
  the face of adversity. A popular subject of books and 
  holofilms, the ‘Flight of the Joutsen’ has inspired many 
  attempts to locate the vessel.
  Projected flight plans are hindered by the lack of 
  navigational data existing from the time it passed 
  through the Trifuge system. With a coasting velocity 
  of around 5% of light speed, the Joutsen could have 
  travelled just over 30 parsecs, placing it somewhere 
  on the Spinward edge of Harem subsector in Foreven. 
  Several expeditions have ventured to find the lost ship 
  but thus far the missions have either failed to correctly 
  predict its location or never returned from their voyage.
  The rewards of finding the Joutsen are incalculable. 
  The Darrian ship was at least TL16 and, despite the 
  inoperable jump drive, could still be packed with new 
  innovative devices to be salvaged, even if the entire ship 
  could not be brought back.
  Attempting to locate the ghost ship is a major project that 
  requires significant navigational expertise, combined 
  with historical knowledge to recover the few records 
  that remain of its passing. After calculating the predicted 
  position of the Joutsen, an expedition must travel 30 
  parsecs through neutral or enemy space, requiring at 
  least five jumps, even with a Jump-6 ship. Only upon 
  arrival can the veracity of their calculations be proved, 
  or not. In addition, undertaking such a significant 
  expedition without utmost secrecy will attract unwanted 
  attention from criminal organisations or perhaps even 
  Zhodani agents, who may attempt to wrest the Darrian 
  vessel from them if successfully discovered.
  
  127
  dispersed into small steadings, operating at a very low Tech 
  Level to avoid drawing notice from the occupation forces above 
  their heads.
  With no global communications to keep the inhabitants in close 
  contact, the government fractured into eight nations separated 
  by mountain ranges or oceans. Despite the reduction in 
  technology, the people kept their Athenian style democracies 
  and thus persevered with their wholesome lifestyle, adhering 
  to the teachings of Taledh. Native predators, freed from 
  breeding and territorial control, became an endemic problem, 
  leading to the development of a hunter/warden class in society. 
  Unpredictable volcanism also, forced further cultural changes 
  such as migratory patterns between several permanent 
  settlements to avoid ash falls or wildfires. Although trans-
  oceanic telegraphs were attempted several times, earthquakes 
  always eventually cut lines, reducing contact to shipping, 
  itself a dangerous occupation when faced with the dangers of 
  intermittent tsunamis.
  After almost five centuries Cunnonic was finally liberated in the 
  Fourth Frontier War. The Darrian Confederation re-established 
  tentative contact with the inhabitants but have thus far not 
  stepped in to help them recover their technological base; instead 
  requesting a quorum to define how Cunnoic wished to proceed 
  with its own reintegration. Thus far the dispersed governments 
  are still debating on how to proceed, with philosophical 
  differences preventing any agreement from being reached.
  In the meantime the Confederation has, with permission, 
  introduced a small military outpost of 10,000 Aslan on the one 
  remaining uninhabited continent, to act as peacekeepers in 
  case of future invasion and help clean up the predator problem. 
  Such duty, although repugnant to most Darrians, is an enjoyable 
  pastime for the Alsan, who consider Cunnonic a prime duty 
  assignment. 
  A significant flotilla of warships funded by the Confederation 
  remains in the system to prevent the Sword Worlds from 
  retaking Cunnonic and help in the huge task of cleaning up 
  orbital scrap. Plans are in place to rebuild the naval base, using 
  the world to fortify the border.
  Points of Interest
  Cunnonic has a few interesting features that draw attention. 
  First and foremost are its natural dangers. Regular volcanism 
  produces some quite spectacular eruptions, which are not 
  only of great interest to geological study but also a possible 
  source of tourism. The occasional accompanying tsunami is 
  also a frightening spectacle, which has led to the building of 
  all settlements far upslope or inland, away from coastal areas.
  The constant injection of fine ash into the atmosphere tends to 
  keep the planet relatively cool. In addition the predominantly 
  wet climate can cause ash clouds to fall out of the sky as muddy 
  rain, sometimes dangerously sticky, which can badly affect the 
  flight dynamics of off-world aircraft and gravitic vehicles. 
  Coping with such high levels of precipitation has affected 
  Cunnonic architecture. High pitched roofs with oversized gutters 
  predominate, most carved or decorated with demonic faces that 
  spout water. The collected outflow, often too contaminated for 
  drinking, is instead used to supply exotic water gardens with 
  streams, pools and reservoir fed fountains. 
  Most settlements, ranging from large steadings to small towns, 
  are built near rivers to facilitate transportation. Man-made 
  canals, although sometimes built, tend to suffer damage in 
  earthquakes. Roads are common but again are often damaged 
  from ground movement.
  The planet’s hostile fauna is also notable, having thrived since 
  Cunnonic fell to the Sword Worlds. Several deadly species 
  roam wild, quite happy to kill and eat any unprepared Darrians 
  who cross their path. The tentacular worm masses of the 
  archipelagos are particularly dangerous, hiding under sand or 
  in shallow surf, to catch passing prey. 
  The night skies of Cunnonic are blessed with occasionally 
  spectacular meteorite storms. Driven by the slow in-fall of 
  wreckage from the destroyed orbital factories, fragments of 
  advanced alloys burn brightly as they drop into the atmosphere, 
  often producing pretty coloured fireballs depending on 
  the fragment’s chemical composition. Many of the gutted 
  manufacturing plants still circle the world, their debris causing 
  a dangerous navigational hazard. To deal with this problem, 
  the Confederation is offering lucrative salvage contracts to help 
  clean up the mess.
  Daryen (A463955-G) Darrian Homeworld
  Diameter: 6,300km, Gravity: 0.35g, Atmosphere: Standard 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 33%, Climate: Temperate, 
  Population: 2,100,000,000, Government: Feudal technocracy, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 15
  Ecology
  Daryen is a smallish world with soaring mountain ranges 
  parcelling off five continent sized basins. Atmospheric pressure 
  is near standard at the bottom of each basin but thins with 
  elevation as each basin gradually curves up towards the 
  dividing mountain ranges, some of the peaks exceeding twenty 
  kilometres in height. Although very dry, its ecology was tweaked 
  by the Ancients to support a transplanted population of humans. 
  The modified ecosystem of Daryen was destroyed during the 
  Maghiz, which irradiated the surface of the world. Almost all 
  higher forms of animal life are now extinct but much of the 
  native botany survived, mostly reintroduced from the small 
  
  128
  parks and gardens of the surviving gravitic cities. Although the 
  molecular balance of the atmosphere was briefly altered by 
  the energies injected by the disaster, it recovered most of its 
  original composition over several hundred years.
  Save for the vast regions on unoccupied wilderness and the 
  occasional cyclopean ruin sprouting from amidst young forests, 
  few directly observable signs of the tragic event remain.
  History
  According to geological and fossil surveys, Daryen was 
  originally a planet with a thriving biosphere of unusual 
  indigenous life forms. At some point about 300,000 years ago 
  the world underwent dramatic modifications, both to its tectonic 
  structure and the native species; soon after which several 
  colonies of primitive homo sapiens were introduced. That the 
  world was used as a large scale experiment of some sort is 
  beyond question. Unfortunately for historians, no records were 
  left explaining the intent, the Ancients exterminating themselves 
  in a galactic war soon afterwards.
  Fragments of legend and archaeological research, suggest the 
  Darrians lived in a world of gardens approximating the Terran 
  Eden. The god Onsorik set up a paradise for the transplanted 
  people, which met all of their needs and allowed their numbers 
  to grow rapidly without much need for conflict over resources. 
  Eventually whatever energies ran the gardens began to fail, 
  though this appears to have been a gradual process. The 
  Darrians were forced to spread out across their planet and 
  to fend for themselves. Fortunately due to Onsorik’s gifts, 
  Daryen was a very welcoming world and the transition was not 
  especially traumatic.
  Perhaps as a result of their relatively comfortable life, the 
  Darrians developed a great respect for the environment and 
  philosophy was channelled towards coexistence with nature 
  rather than fighting it for survival. Science and technology 
  progressed slowly as there was little need for mechanical 
  progress, so Darrians developed their intellectual capabilities in 
  abstract areas like mathematics and sociology.
  Over the epochs, the Darrians adapted to their homeworld, 
  gradually acquiring a distinctive appearance. Although 
  recognisably human and capable of interbreeding with other 
  human subspecies, the Darrians developed what some refer 
  to as a ‘string bean’ appearance. They are tall and slender 
  as a result of the lower gravity on their homeworld. Their skin 
  attained an alternate pigmentation as a result of living under 
  a different sun for millennia, as well as numerous other minor 
  genetic modifications caused by the greater levels of radiation 
  penetrating the thinner atmosphere.
  By –1511, the Darrians had developed a relatively peaceful, 
  rational society but one without much in the way of technology. 
  At that point, everything changed with the arrival of refugees 
  from Earth. These came aboard a fleet of ships built by the Itzin 
  Corporation, out of Dingir.
  Fortunately for the Darrians, the newcomers did not take 
  the obvious ‘sky gods’ route, nor did they use their superior 
  technology to dominate or marginalise the Darrians. Instead 
  they made a careful and friendly approach, trading fairly with 
  their new neighbours who in turn welcomed the Terrans into 
  Darrian society.
  Change was inevitable but the Darrian people were part of 
  it rather than it being forced upon them. Within a century the 
  two cultures had melded into one, as had the populations. The 
  thoughtful, inquisitive nature of the Darrians complemented 
  the energetic and, at times, reckless nature of the Solomani 
  colonists. Working with the technological base the Terrans 
  had brought with them, the revitalised Darrian society began a 
  period of explosive technological growth.
   
  Natural Darrian inquisitiveness eventually led to the exploration 
  of local space. In –1310, once jump technology could be 
  manufactured, the Darrians sent out vessels to chart the 
  subsector and by –1270 had reached a distance of 20 parsecs 
  out. No other civilisations were discovered, so the Darrians 
  returned their attentions closer to home and started in-depth 
  science surveys of the local worlds, explosively expanding their 
  empirical knowledge.
  Ecological conservatism initially prevented full scale colonisation, 
  but driven by a combination of Solomani confidence and a 
  growing Darrian conceit, by -1100 colonies with permanent 
  populations had been established.
  the darrian group
  Known as the Darrian Group, the following worlds 
  were those originally installed with scientific research 
  stations. The most suitable were later expanded to 
  permanently settled colonies, supported by Daryen: 
  Condaria, Ektron, Engrange, Ilium, Jacent, Laberv, 
  Mire, Roget, Rorre, Spume and 494-908. In 1105 all but 
  Condaria are members of the Darrian Confederation.
  In the course of just 400 years Daryen established a mature 
  TL16 culture and had discovered many TL17 concepts. 
  However, their scientific curiosity almost caused their extinction 
  when an experiment surveying their sun, Tarnis, resulted in 
  the Maghiz. Almost all technology failed and Daryen itself was 
  irradiated by the resulting coronal mass ejection, killing over 
  80% of the population in the atmospheric holocaust. Of those 
  few unfortunate enough to survive, 99% died in the following 
  weeks from apocalyptic weather, radiation sickness or slow 
  starvation. 
  
  129
  The remainder were a handful who had been deep underground 
  or submerged under the Zlodh Ocean, sea farming, mining or 
  living in domed underwater complexes. Communicating with 
  each other via meson comms, they mounted what rescue 
  missions they could and waited for surface conditions to 
  stabilise. Violent storms and acid rain continued to make the 
  surface a living hell for the next decade until the damaged 
  atmosphere finally healed.
  Out of the original billions, less than a million Darrians survived. 
  With no surface life remaining and most of the seas’ ecosystem 
  damaged by radiation, the survivors were rationed to processed 
  algae, seaweed and a minimal allowance of fish protein provided 
  by the one undersea farm that blessedly escaped intact. Another 
  of the undersea arcologies was a sea floor mining vessel, which 
  was pressed into service producing building materials to form 
  hydroponics greenhouses. Thousands more died from despair, 
  malnourishment and construction short cuts.
  Regular observations continued to check on the surface 
  environmental conditions. When it appeared that the sun had 
  truly ceased erupting, sealed coastal settlements were built to 
  begin the slow return to civilisation. Daryen society, however, 
  had learned a terrible lesson about scientific hubris and their 
  recovery was tempered by an emergency ruling council, 
  empowered to prevent run-away technological progression. 
  Over the next 600 years, the Daryen Council carefully paced 
  recovery, slipping into an ultra conservative technocracy so that 
  the Darrians never passed beyond TL9.
  When Mire called on the homeworld in –275 with rediscovered 
  Jump Drive technology, offering membership in its new 
  community of independent worlds, Daryen found itself at a 
  disadvantage. It became apparent that the technocratic precepts 
  of the Council had purposefully stagnated their society. Public 
  outcries were met with haughty rebuffs and the government 
  was overthrown in a brief but bitter coup d’état.
  Frustrated by the loss of so much knowledge over the centuries, 
  yet inspired by the achievements of Mire, Daryen began a new 
  academic renaissance. Using supplemental flora and fauna 
  gathered from the habitable worlds of the Darrian Group, the 
  people of Daryen focussed on restoring their planet and left 
  politics to Mire. Over the next 1,300 years the planet forged 
  itself into the centre of Darrian education and learning, gradually 
  reclaiming its place at the forefront of technological research 
  and development.
  Today, Daryen still bears the scars of the Maghiz. There 
  are extensive ruins of former TL16 cites scattered over the 
  landscape, each treated as a sanctified memorial to the dead. 
  These attract tourists and visitors with a scientific interest from 
  quite far afield, as do the remains of what are now normally 
  called ‘orchards’; but access to these Ancients-built gardens, 
  which were home to the original Darrian civilisation, is strictly 
  forbidden. Only excavation teams authorised by the Ministry of 
  Information are allowed to survey the sites and any artefacts 
  discovered are strictly controlled.
  In addition to being the spiritual home of the Darrian 
  Confederation, Daryen is also the main technological centre. 
  The IISS has assigned a Tech Level rating of G (16) but this 
  is slightly misleading. TL16 relics are under study and in some 
  cases can be duplicated and incorporated into devices such 
  as black-box components, but the world as a whole does not 
  make use of such items on a routine basis. Most of the ultra-
  high technology available on planet is in the form of pre-Maghiz 
  buildings and artefacts, which are too precious for their scientific 
  value to be used for day-to-day tasks.
  Study of the pre-Maghiz items, coupled with the Darrians’ natural 
  aptitude for research, will undoubtedly result in technological 
  growth to surpass that of the Imperium and perhaps even the 
  pre-Maghiz Darrians. However, even though the government 
  of Daryen is composed largely of scientists, restrictions are in 
  place and any potentially hazardous experimentation is very 
  carefully considered before being implemented. The Daryen 
  government is famous for its detailed analysis of the impact of 
  almost every decision on the world and its inhabitants.
  Modern Daryen has a population of several billion. Most of these 
  people live on the surface in eco-friendly arcologies, contrary to 
  popular images of Daryen as a world full of floating metropolises. 
  The four remaining flying cities, held aloft by gravitic technology, 
  are tourist centres or homes to off-worlders. Almost 100 million 
  Aslan also reside on Daryen, living monogamously in the 
  unusually dense population centres, each of which is built 
  around a university or corporate research centre.
  Points of Interest
  The primary draw for tourists is the four floating cities with their 
  surviving TL16 wonders. Save for Zlodh, each city is stationed 
  in one of the Daryen Basins, continental sized depressions with 
  their own central sea. Originally hundreds of these impressive 
  constructs floated through Daryen’s atmosphere but were 
  destroyed when the Maghiz hit, plummeting from the sky and 
  killing millions when their gravitics failed. Only four survived, 
  shielded under the Zlodh icecap by several thousand metres 
  of water. 
  After centuries of study by technicians to understand their 
  advanced engineering, they have since been stripped and 
  dispersed, one stationed in each basin, save for Zlodh itself. 
  Most Darrians are reluctant to live or work on the platforms, 
  an inherent distrust of the technology bringing long-term 
  psychological problems. A few younger Darrians or those with 
  fatalistic attitudes, staff the platforms that are mainly inhabited 
  by tourists or Aslan.
  
  130
  The cities are disks several kilometres in diameter, domed 
  with a transparent crystalline substance to keep out inclement 
  weather or water when submerged. Held aloft by massive over-
  engineered grav modules, the immense energy requirements 
  obligate each city to regularly drift over the seas and siphon 
  water to extract hydrogen fuel.
  The city of Rebhar, currently in the Boyr Basin, was originally 
  constructed as a mining platform, and it gradually makes it way 
  along the mountainous rim of the Boyr Basin extracting metal 
  ores from the rugged rock faces. 
  Pororda, built to be a sea farming plant, now acts as a major 
  tourist attraction. It floats above the Rimb Sea providing luxury 
  accommodation, a water sports theme park and other ocean 
  based recreations.
  The Kilulga research platform was originally equipped for polar 
  studies. It now however drifts in the high atmosphere above the 
  Abh Basin, acting as a weather station. It is also the location of 
  the prestigious Kilulga University, with a self contained campus.
  Zehn Nyak originally a residential platform, continues in that 
  capacity, housing a population of artists and craftsmen. The city 
  migrates between seven coastal cities around the Nyadh Sea, 
  its circuit matched to the seasonal markets in each location. 
  Another popular tourist attraction, the arrival of the city at each 
  market starts a several day long festivals and public holidays.
  Another heritage site is the preserved subterranean complex 
  of Stronghold. This was the original Solomani base established 
  on Daryen in –1521 when the settlers first arrived on the world. 
  Located on a high mountain plateau where the Rimb, Boyr 
  and Abh basins meet, it was intended as a secret retreat for 
  Solomani in the event that public opinion turned against them. 
  By –1450, the Solomani were an accepted part of Darrian 
  society and Stronghold became a research and manufacturing 
  centre. It was abandoned after the Maghiz but converted to a 
  museum after Daryen joined the Confederation.
  Each basin possesses its own prestigious university, to which 
  many of the top qualifying students in the Confederation strive 
  to join. 
  Tarnis is the rapidly spinning primary star of the Darrian system. 
  Certain instabilities are caused by its companion Red Dwarf star, 
  with a slightly eccentric orbit, which must have ejected many 
  of the planets in the binary system before the few remaining 
  worlds settled into equilibrium; Daryen being the only terrestrial 
  world left, preserved by its proximity to Tarnis. The main star 
  is surrounded by a web of passive sensors, closely examining 
  any changes in wobble or radiation output. In close orbit is a 
  monument formed from the fused and melted ships caught by 
  the Maghiz, the Darrians unwilling to cast any further objects 
  into the star. It broadcasts a melancholy dirge to the dead crews 
  on a channel reserved for the memorial. Nobody ever visits the 
  place.
  A few of the gas giant moons are occupied. Most are either 
  mining bases or research stations. Telaret, a moon of Leryin, 
  the innermost gas giant, has a research post built by the 
  University of Nyadh in 789. Scientists use the extensive facilities 
  to study vacuum phenomena. On the sister moons of Yimut 
  and Lubhilzadh are mining settlements, extracting unusual 
  radioactive alloys from the gas giant’s rings.
  On Poror, the innermost satellite of Bidhes, the second gas 
  giant in the system, is the remnants of a sensor base built 
  before the Maghiz. Its original fixtures long salvaged, the base 
  is now being reused by the University of Boyr, who moved in 
  during 1050, to begin low temperature and magnetism studies.
  A tiny colony exists on Delung, a moon orbiting the third gas 
  giant Panusam, occupying another early Darrian base. This 
  settlement survived the worst of the Maghiz, being in the shadow 
  of its planet and reputedly still has most of its technology intact. 
  Any contact with the colony is expressly forbidden, several 
  SDBs always patrol nearby to prevent approach.
  Other bases further out around the gas giants of Renadh and 
  Pondam, are listening stations or military outposts, providing 
  advanced warning and naval support against any attack on 
  Daryen. Somewhere in the outer system is rumoured to be 
  a secret naval cache where the Confederation found their 
  mothballed fleet of TL16 warships. Several attempts to locate 
  other caches have been made but the Ministry of Defence 
  dislikes anyone poking about the outlying gas giants and 
  asteroid belts. Ships that ignore warnings tend to be deported 
  out of the Confederation or disappear without trace.
  Dorannia (E42158A-8)
  Diameter: 5,743km, Gravity: 0.35g, Atmosphere: Very thin 
  oxygen-nitrogen tainted with radioactive dust, Hydrographics: 
  5%, Climate: Cold, Population: 502,000, Government: Civil 
  service bureaucracy, Manufacturing Tech Level: 8
  Ecology
  Bone dry, with a geology high in fissionables, Dorannia has no 
  natural ecology of its own. Most towns are colony domes with an 
  area dedicated to food production, which also helps keep the air 
  fresh, but few are self-sufficient. Extra foodstuffs are brought in 
  from the more specialised settlements, which grow bulk crops in 
  huge environmentally-sealed greenhouses. The atmosphere is 
  just barely breathable to a stationary Darrian but unsustainable 
  for normal humans, not that anyone would want to inhale the 
  radioactive dust that laces the air. To work outside requires a 
  compressor mask or a full air supply and strict decontamination 
  procedures when returning to a settlement.
  
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  History
  Dorannia is one of a cluster of three worlds lying just off the 
  Bowman Arm of the Spinward Main and accessible by Jump-
  2 ships from the Main or the central cluster of the subsector. 
  None of these worlds are especially important and Dorannia 
  was never claimed nor settled by the Darrians.
  Settlement started relatively recently after the Third Civil War, as 
  a mining colony extracting and exporting its rich veins of fissile 
  ores; bootstrapping itself from a major strip mining operation 
  to an independent world with a population numbering around 
  half a million in just over a century. It is administered by a fairly 
  efficient civil service government, which follows established 
  patterns in an unimaginative way. Laws are strict, largely as a 
  consequence of a harsh environment that can kill the unwary 
  or careless worker. Mistakes can have terminal consequences 
  for others, too. 
  Recent piratical activity has unduly affected Dorannia. The 
  scattered nature of the world’s settlements makes them ideal 
  targets for planetary raiders, spaceborne thugs that either 
  raid settlements for whatever they can grab or else hold them 
  hostage under the guns of their ship, demanding tribute in return 
  for not shooting the place up. On a sealed-environment world 
  like Dorannia the consequences of taking fire in this manner 
  could be catastrophic.
  After a string of raids on different settlements in 1102–3, 
  one of which wrecked the refuelling plant of the starport, the 
  government decided to do something about the problem. A 
  mercenary unit comprising of an armed merchant ship and 
  associated personnel was hired for a time, providing a measure 
  of protection in the short term and advising on the creation of 
  planetary defences on a more permanent basis.
  The latter took a form that would simply not be conceived in 
  the Imperium. Batteries of crude nuclear missiles were installed 
  near many of the settlements, guided by rather basic tracking 
  and fire control equipment. The primitive design and lack of 
  safety measures of the missiles belie their brutal effectiveness.
  As an independent world nothing prevents the local townships 
  from using nuclear weapons, although such things would be 
  forbidden in the Imperium. With no need of regulations for their 
  safe storage and the circumstances under which they can be 
  used, Dorannia has launched more nuclear munitions under 
  combat conditions since 1103 than most planetary navies have 
  in their entire history. The fact of the matter is that ‘Atomic 
  Dorannia’ has become trigger-happy with its new arsenal, an 
  effective deterrent against most raiders.
  Points of Interest
  Settlements on Dorannia tend not to be very large, with towns 
  of a few thousand being more common than large cities. The 
  towns are each administered by a local government, which turn 
  answers to the central administration at the capital. Transport 
  between the settlements is generally by rail or large, slow 
  transport crawlers. Grav vehicles are expensive and Dorannia 
  is not a rich world, so the few gravitic transports available tend 
  to be in the hands of the government or well-off private owners 
  rather than in use as commercial conveyances.
  In recent years, a new industry has emerged on Dorannia. 
  Rather than simply mining and exporting radioactives, the 
  world’s industrial base now constructs a range of fission-based 
  power systems. These include full-sized nuclear power plants 
  suitable to power a large town or major industrial complex as 
  well as smaller plants for vehicles and miniature reactors for 
  small-scale applications.
  Nuclear fission is a mature technology on Dorannia, which uses 
  fission reactors to power its towns, industrial centres, railways 
  and even some of the larger transport crawlers. Safety records 
  and reliability are good, although fission power will never be as 
  safe as fusion, nor can fission match the output per unit mass 
  of a fusion plant. Nevertheless it is a viable alternative for mid-
  tech worlds that want a power system that can be maintained 
  with local resources.
  Since Dorannia has no real naval capability to conduct customs 
  inspections in space, the planet’s only defence is to use the 
  threat of annihilation. Vessels that seem even slightly suspect 
  are targeted and told that they have numerous missiles aimed 
  at them. They are permitted to sheer off and go somewhere else 
  or else proceed in to land at the port very slowly and carefully.
  As the guidance systems of Dorannia’s missile arsenal are not 
  the best, accuracy is problematic. Their answer is saturation fire 
  with salvoes in the hope of a hit. As a result a typical Dorannia 
  PAD (Planetary Aerospace Defence) missile consists of a large 
  ground-to-orbit bus section and six independently targeted 
  short-range missiles, each with a tactical nuclear warhead. 
  A number of customers now purchase these missiles from 
  Dorannia, which has both the nearby Imperium and Darrian 
  Confederation worried about the eventual destination of such 
  weapons. Diplomatic efforts are being applied to shut down the 
  trade. However, with each township willing to look the other way 
  for a significant injection of credits into their borderline economy, 
  the only obvious solution may be to annex the world.
  Ektron (C322652-9)
  Diameter: 4,724km, Gravity: 0.25g, Atmosphere: Very thin 
  oxygen-nitrogen tainted by high levels of carbon dioxide, 
  Hydrographics: 
  15%, 
  Climate: 
  Temperate, 
  Population: 
  4,300,000, Government: Feudal technocracy, Manufacturing 
  Tech Level: 9
  
  132
  Ecology
  Ektron is a world in close proximity with its primary, granting it 
  one of the shortest years in the Confederation. It has a very thin 
  atmosphere with a mild concentration of CO2 requiring filtered 
  respirator masks for residents. 
  The low atmospheric pressure and lack of humidity has resulted 
  in some quite strange adaptations in the native flora and fauna. 
  Plants have evolved huge waxy fronds or other extended 
  surface areas to allow greater gas absorption, with smaller 
  plants storing pressurised air within internal cists, hanging 
  pods or even bladder-like leaves where photosynthesis can be 
  performed more efficiently. Likewise animals have developed 
  oversized thoraxes and lungs, using internal oxygen sacs 
  to provide emergency reserves when hunting or fleeing; and 
  possess elaborate moisture filters in their airways to reduce 
  water loss.
  Low gravity allows most Ektron life to grow to titanic proportions. 
  Conifer shaped cacti often reach 300 metres in height and 
  ground based ferns can have fronds 10 metres long. Animals 
  too experience gigantism but tend towards leanness (save for 
  their chests) rather than bulk.
  History
  One of the original Darrian colonies, the native ecology was 
  not favourable to unprotected inhabitation but plans were laid 
  to begin a slow conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into 
  oxygen, which would eventually enable residents to breathe 
  without filter masks. To protect the native ecosystem the 
  terraforming process was designed to last a millennium, in order 
  to give life forms a chance to adapt to the slightly changing gas 
  proportions. To ensure control over the procedure, the planet 
  was covered with hundreds of atmospheric exchanger towers, 
  which took decades to emplace.
  Forewarned of the Maghiz arrival in –914, the colonists 
  dedicated most of their limited resources to shielding their own 
  few power stations, so that a few of the neglected conversion 
  towers ceased functioning. Although self supporting in terms of 
  food, Ektron lacked any form of manufacturing capability and 
  was forced to beg for aid from Ilium, which exchanged some 
  basic smelters and lathing machines in return for consumables. 
  This mutual support continued until –881, when the lack of 
  competent ship maintenance was making jumps too risky.
  With limited residential space, population growth was restricted. 
  This in turn hampered industrial development and the building 
  of new habitats. Perseverance paid off in the end and once 
  Ektron regained a TL6 manufacturing base, the number of 
  inhabitants grew. Fortunately for the world, the Maghiz effects 
  were very mild and it retained its fusion capability. Losses of the 
  more sensitive computational devices were mainly due to wear 
  and tear. Thus life was bearable and Ektron flourished within 
  the constraints of its pressurised habitats; converting most of 
  its surface transportation systems to animal drawn vehicles and 
  farming an ever greater number of native plant species.
  By the time Mire contacted them in –274, Ektron was back up 
  to a functional TL9 society where it has remained ever since, 
  foreseeing no need to further industrialise with the return of 
  interstellar trade. After the Second Frontier War, the world 
  opened up its copious wilderness areas for Aslan settlement. 
  The two races work well together, the Darrians farming large 
  plantations whilst the Aslan prevent indigenous grazers from 
  damaging the crops.
  Society remains quietly pastoral. It now exports exotic teas in 
  return for the few hi-tech manufactured goods it desires.
  Points of Interest
  Although the few atmospheric conversion towers which remain 
  functional are a constant source of interest to visitors, the Ektron 
  authorities are loathed to allow any scientific analysis of them. 
  The sophisticated machines still work away and will eventually 
  make the air breathable for Darrians, so nobody wants them 
  to fail from enthusiastic tinkering. The black towers stretch a 
  kilometre or more into the sky, shaped like graceful stalks of 
  wheat. The centre of each one is hollow allowing air, warmed by 
  the walls of the tower, to rise upwards where it passes through 
  a complex honeycomb of solid state machinery. As it passes 
  through, carbon dioxide is cracked apart with oxygen expelled 
  upwards and a fine mist of carbon dust disperses into the 
  winds. What prevents the carbon from clogging the machinery 
  is unknown.
  Ektron is best known for its diverse ranges of herbal teas, which 
  are shipped all over the Confederation where they are savoured 
  for their subtle flavours and mild narcotic effects. One particular 
  favourite uses a type of leaf that stores carbon dioxide in its 
  bladder-like structure. The leaves are picked near the base of 
  the stalk and quickly sealed in containers pressurised to the 
  leaf’s own internal pressure. When steeped in hot water the 
  structure of the leaf ruptures, allowing the gas to escape and 
  carbonate the drink, whilst simultaneously infusing the water 
  with a complex assortment of sweet flavours.
  Whilst the world lacks aggressive animal life, some of the 
  herbivores have been partially domesticated. A variety of 
  mountain leapers provide wool, which is both insulating and 
  extremely lightweight. This material is used for much of the 
  local clothing, often dyed with natural extracts from Ektron’s 
  plants. These colourful garments, akin to ponchos, are sold to 
  Confederation worlds whose climates are cool or colder.
  Nearly a fifth of the population are Aslan, who delight in hunting 
  the oversized native species. Many perform pilgrimages into 
  the wild, surviving for weeks with nothing but a solar powered 
  
  133
  respirator. Trophies are not claimed from any kills, being too 
  large to conveniently display, but completion of such a retreat 
  gains the Aslan a degree of respect.
  Unusually, Ektron has a very liberal law level, due to its low 
  population density and its propensity for glowing mild narcotics. 
  Whilst few material goods are forbidden on the world, it still 
  maintains a strong sense of social responsibility and misuse 
  of imported or unrestricted devices and substances will still be 
  punished.
  History
  One of the original Darrian colonies, it was first occupied in with 
  the establishment of a terraforming outpost. Cycling teams of 
  scientists laboured for almost a century and a half to introduce 
  Daryen’s own biosphere on the world. Progress was initially slow 
  due to bacteriological incompatibilities but some slight genetic 
  modifications allowed the transplanted botanical specimens to 
  take hold and start to spread.
  Full colonisation was withheld until the ecosystem could mature 
  far enough to support the planned several hundred thousand 
  immigrants. Tragically the Maghiz destroyed the resupply ship, 
  causing the botanists to be cut off without food, medication or 
  portable power supplies, their primitive research station being 
  totally dependent on regular shipments from the homeworld. 
  Although a vessel eventually arrived three months after the 
  disaster to find out what had happened, it was already too 
  late, the team having starved to death on a world planted with 
  immature seedlings.
  After Ilium had recovered its own jump capability, in –40 it 
  took advantage of its proximity to Engrange to survey the 
  planet. The crew discovered a world thriving with new growth, 
  the original plantings having spread like wildfire across the 
  planet and matured in the eight centuries of isolation. Sensing 
  a golden opportunity, Ilium nearly bankrupted itself to set up 
  a self supporting, manufacturing capable colony. However, 
  authoritative control was retained since Ilium wished to 
  eventually profit from the massive investment.
  Engrange remained fairly isolated from the Frontier Wars, 
  located far enough from the border to be safe from Sword 
  World incursions. The people of Engrange however, proved to 
  be fiercely patriotic and, uniting with their sister world, provided 
  many ships and troops, which fought with distinction. The few 
  internal conflicts within their own system have been ill-fated 
  pirate raids, believed to have been launched from the free port 
  on Laberv. These were dealt with efficiently by the colonial 
  squadron, in text book battles almost as if they had advanced 
  knowledge of the assaults.
  Little else of significance occurred in Engrange’s history 
  until 1055 when the first calls for independence were raised. 
  The civil service bureaucracy on Ilium took the matter under 
  consideration, effectively burying the question in red tape. 
  The request was officially repeated several times, prompting 
  sociological studies, when the Fourth Frontier War broke out. 
  The independence issue was forgotten for more than five years, 
  media attention drawn towards the conflict and the loss of the 
  Entropic Group.
  Eventually the population of Engrange came to the conclusion 
  that autonomy would not be forthcoming. A small group of 
  concerned Engrangeans began a subtle campaign of harmless 
  a terriBle treasure
  In the far reaches of the Ektron system is a derelict 
  ship, frozen and lifeless. Its design is unfamiliar, dating 
  from pre-Maghiz times. The hull of the wreck is charred 
  black but seems relatively intact. Internally however, 
  under the frosting there is little left to salvage. Most 
  of the components appear to have been irrevocably 
  damaged from an EMP. One of the few sections to 
  survive is the ship’s black box. 
  Within is a harrowing recording of the vessels last 
  hours, jumping into the Daryen system and desperately 
  trying to escape coronal mass ejection of the Maghiz. 
  The memory contains full sensor recordings of the 
  wave engulfing Daryen before the captain was forced 
  in desperation to blind jump. The ship was hit by the 
  leading front of the plasma wave before it could escape 
  but it was already too late for the crew who received 
  lethal radiation doses, dying in jump. The vessel 
  contains the perfectly preserved bodies of its Darrian 
  crew, still at their stations.
  Although little of the TL16 equipment survives, the 
  ship is worth a fortune as a historical artefact. The 
  sensor records alone would fetch millions from the 
  Confederation Government for their scientific content.
  Engrange (C554769-8)
  Diameter: 7,300km, Gravity: 0.45g, Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-
  nitrogen, Hydrographics: 36%, Climate: Temperate, Population: 
  70,000,000, Government: Ruled from Ilium, Manufacturing 
  Tech Level: 8
  Ecology
  A cool, fairly dry, world conducive to Darrian settlement. When 
  first discovered it closely matched the environmental parameters 
  of the homeworld but lacked any advanced ecology of its own. 
  It was seeded with Daryen plant life, which gradually spread 
  across the world after the Maghiz. Save for minor arthropods 
  and some species of introduced fish, there is no significant 
  animal life.
  
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  sabotage, incurring a mounting series of payouts and insurance 
  claims, which gradually undermined profits. Once statisticians 
  spotted the anomaly, the Ilium government reacted angrily, 
  sending in agents to uncover the ringleaders. Excessive zeal 
  was utilised, ending up with the deaths of several prominent 
  Engrange citizens; and the political outfall was disastrous, 
  demonstrations and angry mobs taking to the streets and 
  threatening retaliation.
  The Confederation Ministry of Trade intervened before things 
  got out of hand, setting a timetable for Engrange emancipation, 
  dependant on the achievement of economic waymarks. Spurred 
  by the promise of independence the world is currently forging 
  ahead with plans to meet their objective of a TL9 manufacturing 
  capability.
  Points of Interest
  One of the major industries of Engrange is the exportation of 
  Daryen plants back to the motherworld. Centuries of planetary 
  recovery with a very small set of native plant life caused the 
  Daryen post-Maghiz biosphere to become based upon a few 
  dozen species. The lack of diversity made the ecosphere 
  somewhat fragile, so Engrange has been supplying thousands 
  more types of trees, shrubs and flowers from its comprehensive 
  seed banks. Reintroduction has been a slow process but a 
  lucrative one from the Engrange botanists’ perspective.
  The most renown natural wonder of Engrange are the Singing 
  Canyons, a natural series of ravines that radiate out from a 
  deep meteor crater four kilometres in diameter. The fractures 
  have been worn down and smoothed by water, which flows into 
  the crater forming a natural lake at its bottom. When the winds 
  rise to gale force, they produce resonances in the canyons, 
  rising and falling as if the wind itself was singing. The effect 
  is supposed to be quite haunting, causing many listeners to 
  believe that they can hear words. Strangely, soon after each 
  breeze driven symphony the water level of the crater drops 
  by several metres. Divers have yet to find the bottom of the 
  sinkhole beneath the lake.
  Seven million Aslan live on Engrange, freely mixing with the 
  Darrian population. The majority work in the manufacturing 
  complexes having little interest in forestry or botanical sciences, 
  or are professional soldiers in the defence forces. Much to 
  Ilium’s distress, a large number of its populace continually 
  apply for emigration rights to Engrange preferring the untainted 
  atmosphere of the Eden-like world.
  The majority of Engrange’s heavy industry is based in orbit to 
  prevent contaminating the planet, although they maintain a 
  number of redundant factories on the surface in case of invasion. 
  Two planetoid belts supply raw resources and are heavily mined.
  llium (B444831-9)
  Diameter: 5,720km, Gravity: 0.35g, Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-
  nitrogen tainted by sulphur compounds, Hydrographics: 39%, 
  Climate: Temperate, Population: 452,000,000, Government: 
  Scientific oligarchy, Manufacturing Tech Level: 9
  Ecology
  Ilium, except for its sulphuric taint, seems like a perfect Darrian 
  planet with its warm, thin atmosphere and productive agriculture. 
  This is because the pre-Maghiz Darrians terraformed its 
  atmosphere by boring hundreds of deep shafts to make the 
  planetary crust out-gas more efficiently, thus thickening the 
  atmosphere. Unsuspected sulphurous compounds rose with 
  the trapped subterranean gases, giving the atmosphere its 
  distinctive taint.
  To solve this problem, the Darrians seeded the barren world 
  with bio-engineered bacteria and plants decades before human 
  colonists settled permanently, in order to bind the worst of the 
  taint back into the soil; but although filter masks are no longer 
  required, even after two millennia there is still a long way to 
  go. The rotten-egg smell is barely noticeable to natives but it 
  is extremely unpleasant for visitors to breathe and, whilst no 
  longer directly harmful, it still induces nausea and irreversibly 
  impregnates clothing with its odour.
  Few animal species larger than a dog roam the planet, their 
  initial introduction prevented by the original necessity of 
  breathing apparatus followed closely by the Maghiz, which 
  stopped any further development.
  Due in part to the puncturing of many subsurface cists, the 
  planetary crust is still dynamically reshaping itself. Thus Ilium 
  suffers an unusually high incidence of earthquakes.
  History
  Another of the original planets settled by Daryen, Ilium was 
  considered a prime candidate for terraforming, only needing 
  a slightly thicker atmosphere to become a perfect colony. 
  Work started with a mammoth drilling enterprise to release 
  gases trapped under the tectonic plates. The theory was 
  sound but the results were less pleasant. Large quantities of 
  poisonous sulphuric gases escaped from the bores tainting 
  the atmosphere.
  Unwilling to abort the project after investing so much effort, 
  bioengineered microorganisms were introduced to remove 
  the taint. By –945 the toxicity had been reduced far enough 
  to permit initial colonisation by Darrians wearing filter masks. 
  The first landings did not progress well however and many of 
  the original pioneers requested their nasal nerves be severed 
  before departure.
  
  135
  When the Maghiz devastated Daryen, Ilium found itself in 
  trouble. Although possessing a limited amount of manufacturing 
  equipment being used to construct the pressure domed 
  settlements, it lacked consumables. In desperation they 
  donated fabrication equipment to Ektron in exchange for 
  food and shipped technical specialists to Mire and Roget for 
  hydroponics experts.
  Despite the warnings they had from Mire, Ilium technicians 
  deemed the strength of the projected electromagnetic pulse 
  to be negligible. When the gamma ray burst hit them in –920, 
  it damaged very little of their electrical equipment. However 
  one of the few items it did affect was a small sensor chip in 
  their fusion plant which temporarily malfunctioned, causing a 
  plasma surge to burn out several irreplaceable superconducting 
  magnets. The disaster meant no energy was available unless 
  one or more of their spaceships were left on the surface to act 
  as power plants.
  With a large population and next to no consistent power, the 
  sustainable Tech Level of Ilium crashed. The world desperately 
  continued intermittent mutual aid with its neighbours until 
  –881, when the remaining jump capable ships began to show 
  dangerous levels of unreliability.
  Ilium reverted to a TL 3 society and began a hard, frustrating 
  climb back. They were helped by the few computerised 
  encyclopaedias that they had managed to save but the 
  databases were merely overviews, lacking the detailed 
  knowledge and experience required to practically apply 
  advanced concepts. Before Mire established contact in –275, 
  Ilium had barely regained TL7 and was struggling to support its 
  exploding population. 
  Quickly accepting membership in Mire’s proposed community 
  of independent worlds, Ilium welcomed scientists from the 
  new capital and negotiated contracts for the purchase of jump 
  capable ships, offering its population in trade. Conditions 
  on the world gradually improved and Ilium began to export 
  manufactured goods to other members of the Darrian Group.
  In a clever piece of political manoeuvring, Ilium managed to lay 
  claim to the colonisation rights of Engrange; tying up most of its 
  shipping fleet to establish a full scale demesne. Retaining control 
  of the second world allowed Ilium to extract a high proportion 
  of its revenue. When the other member worlds grasped the 
  situation they tried to overthrow Ilium’s patriarchal ownership 
  of the colony. However the government of Mire held fast to its 
  previous agreements and the status quo was maintained.
  Even with the additional finances earned from its colony, Ilium 
  barely kept itself afloat financially. Lacking any chance of a 
  tourist industry, its manufacturing sophistication inferior to 
  Mire, Nosea or Daryen and native agriculture subtly tainted 
  
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  with sulphurous fragrances, the Ilium government began to 
  desperately seek some form of sustainable trade. 
  A solution presented itself with the outbreak of the First Frontier War, 
  when the world was selected to host one of the Confederation’s 
  four military bases. Building the installation infrastructure and later 
  on, supplying service personnel and material support, became 
  the main source of income and employment. Over the following 
  centuries, the base grew both in size and scope, encouraging the 
  relocation of many of the Confederation’s munitions manufacturing 
  corporations to the world.
  Posting to Ilium is viewed as hardship punishment, the troops 
  having more than their fair share of ‘bad apples’ transferred 
  there. Non-natives never truly get used to the stink, which is 
  not helped by the air inside the garrison buildings being filtered 
  and purified – making each return outside more irritating. 
  Conversely, Ilium is where many Darrian Special Forces units 
  train, just to prove their toughness.
  With their more sensitive sense of smell, Aslan cannot be 
  deployed on Ilium without remaining within sealed environments. 
  The few times battalions were forced to engage in wargames on 
  the surface without their armour, the Aslan rebelled, assaulted 
  the nearest g-carriers and returned to orbit. Whilst these 
  episodes are the basis for many anecdotes, many Darrian 
  NCOs have since used the world as motivational inspiration for 
  pugnacious Aslan troops.
  Catering for so many soldiers, Ilium has become a haven of 
  permissiveness. Many forms of narcotics are available, as are 
  a number of weapons ‘acquired’ from the lax logistical security 
  of the naval base.
  Due to its pervasive smell, the major imports to Ilium are 
  deodorisers, perfumes and scented flowers, shipped in by the 
  dTon. These scents are, by Darrian standards, unfortunately 
  strong, a necessity driven by the population’s desensitised 
  olfactory perception. 
  Jacent (A333744-D)
  Diameter: 4,210km, Gravity: 0.25g, Atmosphere: Very thin 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 30%, Climate: Temperate, 
  Population: 
  74,235,000, 
  Government: 
  Representative 
  democracy, Manufacturing Tech Level: 13
  Ecology
  Even though its atmosphere is very thin, Jacent is a habitable 
  planet due to a high oxygen percentage in its air, primarily 
  the result of extremely active marine plant life. Although its 
  several seas support a broad native ecology, which the Darrian 
  inhabitants make some use of, only plants inhabit the land, 
  probably due to the high background radiation from Jacent’s 
  close orbit. The climate is cool and clammy, much heat lost 
  via the thin atmosphere and the seas evaporating in the low 
  pressure to form great banks of fog. 
  History
  The second most distant planet colonised in the initial wave 
  of Darrian expansion, Jacent was settled in order to study the 
  huge marine species of the world, many of which exhibited 
  odd biological mechanisms or produced medically useful 
  compounds.
  A scientific outpost was built initially, but excitement generated 
  due to the vibrant ecology soon resulted in a plan to build an 
  rats in the Walls
  One of the few genetically manufactured species 
  introduced to the world was a small rat-like marsupial, 
  which was modified from a life form found on Condaria. 
  Designed to survive in the leanest of times and act as 
  a food source for higher predators, things began to 
  go wrong when its designated carnivores were never 
  introduced. 
  The species now breeds explosively when food 
  supplies are plentiful. Every few dozen years a localised 
  plague strips the land clean of almost everything, then 
  the creatures starve and die off. Fortunately for the 
  inhabitants, the species avoids the smell of its own 
  dead and the populace utilise this knowledge to keep 
  the animals away from crop lands. However, stories 
  abound of off world visitors who fail to heed warnings 
  and accidentally get eaten during outbursts.
  Points of Interest
  The Ilium military base has both an orbital and ground component 
  for the Confederation Navy and Guard units respectively. The 
  naval base is a 25 kilometre long, potato shaped asteroid in high 
  orbit. The rock is riddled with a sprawling collection of hangers, 
  dock yards, ship chandlers, munitions bunkers, administration 
  offices, barracks, R&R bars and so on. Its surface is a sprawling 
  mess of radiators, sensor antennae and defence weaponry. 
  Like most military establishments, approach is forbidden except 
  with the correct clearances. 
  Long years without seeing any action has made base 
  discipline somewhat lax – a problem which is being 
  compounded by Vice Admiral Kehyr, who shows favouritism 
  to staff officers and has little interest outside of inter-service 
  sporting competitions. Rumours of a Special Arm fleet 
  admiral coming to whip him into shape or replace him, has 
  not helped matters.
  The main Guard Garrison is stationed on-planet, with most of a 
  continent given over to training exercises and weapons testing. 
  
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  undersea domed city. This was a significant project, requiring a 
  tremendous shipment of mining equipment and manufacturing 
  plants. Having to fabricate most of the parts in situ, construction 
  was not finished for several decades, after which xenologists, 
  zoologists and botanists flooded to the massive undersea 
  installation.
  When the Maghiz occurred, Jacent was almost self supporting. 
  With its small fleet of courier vessels it aided its neighbours as 
  best it could but the scientists on Engrange were dead, Rorre 
  had no need for help, 494-908 had mysteriously gone silent 
  and both Spume and Mire had virtually no infrastructure left. 
  Faced with such destruction, Jacent decided to export medical 
  supplies and hastily trained doctors.
  The Maghiz struck Jacent in –914, yet the location of the city 
  under the ocean protected it against the negligible pulse, 
  leaving it intact save for a few days of mild communication 
  interference. Able to manufacture some equipment with the 
  designs pre-programmed into their fabricators, Jacent was 
  able to continue maintaining its own infrastructure, at least until 
  the fabricating machines themselves wore out. Its old courier 
  ships were a different matter. Frequent jumps, despite semi-
  competent servicing, eventually eroded components which, 
  without ship engineering specialists, not even Jacent could 
  recreate. Faced with the loss of several vessels, it shut down its 
  medical exchange program and mothballed its one remaining 
  spacecraft.
  During the time of isolation, Jacent experienced a brief backslide, 
  but nothing as serious as the other colony worlds. Dropping 
  back to TL10 the colony strove to restore and improve its Tech 
  Level, but with an intellectual bias toward ecological sciences, 
  focussed on the inner world rather than space. Despite the later 
  censure they faced from the rest of the reformed Confederation, 
  the colony simply lacked the technical information to rebuild 
  jump drive capability.
  When re-contacted by Mire in –273, Jacent was flourishing with 
  a TL12 society specialised in the biological sciences but had 
  no astronomical or air transportation capability whatsoever. 
  In the 600 years they had exhaustively studied the native 
  oceanic species and were beginning to tinker with the concept 
  of creating their own sophont squid species. In addition the 
  population were beginning to experiment with a wide range of 
  bio-engineered substances to improve Darrian physiological 
  capabilities and had even constructed immense subsurface 
  tunnels to connect each of the separate seas together.
  Over the following millennium, Jacent remained a backwater 
  planet inhabited by a small population dedicated to pure 
  scientific study. During the First Frontier War when the Sword 
  Worlds annexed Cunnonic and briefly held Terant 340 and 
  Trifuge, Jacent found itself catapulted into the forefront of 
  battle. Although the Sword World navy made several attempts 
  to penetrate the system, the Confederation held them off, using 
  the colony as a base of operations to repel the invaders back 
  out of the subsector.
  This rude awakening refocused the Jacent population who, 
  from that point onwards, invested heavily in building their 
  own colonial squadron. Fortunately for the world, none of the 
  intermittent Sword World alliances managed to push that far into 
  Confederation territory again. Now with the establishment of a 
  naval base at Nosea, Jacent has once again returned to being 
  somewhat of a backwater, albeit one producing high quality 
  biotech and hosting the second most advanced shipbuilding 
  yards in the Confederation.
  Points of Interest
  The planetary congress of Jacent consists of representatives 
  from the world’s 25 separate cities, each once an independent 
  administrative district. They are connected by submarines to 
  shuttle between the underwater arcologies. 
  Very little of the surface landmass is occupied by the inhabitants, 
  the only structures being the incredibly well appointed space 
  port and a few mountain huts for those wanting a holiday or to 
  gaze out over the rolling mists. There are no predators or Darrian 
  compatible diseases to worry about but each hut is equipped 
  with a comm system to warn tourists of the approach of solar 
  flares, which could inflict a mild case of radiation poisoning. 
  There are no buildings near the seas, since the almost constant 
  fogs are cold and clammy.
  Jacent has a large number of very big sea monsters. Gargantuan 
  sharks and seal-like creatures stand at the apex of the food 
  chain. Of more interest to the inhabitants are a species of man 
  sized septapod (seven tentacled) squids. These exhibit a tool 
  using skills which first drew them to the attention of scientists, 
  and possess amazing chameleon-like colour control of their skin 
  pigmentation. Unfortunately, population levels of the creatures 
  are very low, so they are considered an endangered species.
  A second species of covert importance is a type of man-sized 
  crustacean that was avoided due to its touch being invariably 
  fatal. Recent investigations however, have revealed that the 
  shellfish toxin appears to be an extremely powerful endorphin 
  magnifier, literally killing its victims with an overdose of 
  unadulterated pleasure. The results of the study are being kept 
  secret in fear that unscrupulous people might be tempted to 
  hunt the crustacean for its unique toxin, which has a potential 
  market as a recreational drug.
  Partly because of this reason, sport hunting is forbidden on 
  Jacent; although most hunters usually end up being killed and 
  
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  eaten by the native fauna. Some sea animals are culled for food 
  however, certain fish and mollusc delicacies exported for their 
  sublime flavours.
  Laberv (B354443-7)
  Diameter: 4,450km, Gravity: 0.25g, Atmosphere: Thin 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 44%, Climate: Temperate, 
  Population: 73,400, Government: Representative democracy, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 7
  Ecology
  Technically Laberv is a hospitable world, its light gravity and 
  untainted atmosphere conducive to Darrian occupation. In 
  reality, it remains a barren, partially terraformed planet with 
  the drab, repetitive appearance of a giant gravel pit. What 
  little vegetation survives takes the form of either moist lichen 
  covering the rocks or patches of stubby grasses beaten by the 
  constant winds. There is no native animal life, save for a single 
  species of domesticated grazer introduced by recent settlers. 
  The climate is generally warm, overcast and incessantly windy, 
  its frequent drizzle only making the planet appear more bleak.
  History
  Laberv, when discovered, was a small world lacking any life 
  above primitive microbes. The scientists of Daryen decided to 
  terraform the planet, seeing its potential as a garden world. The 
  project however, was deferred by more important colonisation 
  attempts, not starting until very late and sadly interrupted by 
  the Maghiz before a proper soil substrate could be formed. 
  Luckily for the small team of terraformers, their ships survived 
  the disaster and they evacuated to Mire.
  The world was left fallow for over a millennium before any 
  interest was taken in it again. Seeking to reclaim Laberv before 
  the Zhodani or Imperium became interested in its location, the 
  Confederation Council decided to drop a prefabricated colony 
  on the world. Proposing the project as a test of Darrian against 
  nature, it gathered a team of hardened pioneers and sent 
  them with the most basic facilities, unable to fund a significant 
  colonisation attempt with their stretched resources.
  Selecting a wide pampas in the lee of a rocky mountain range 
  as the location of the first settlement, the colony landed in 154 
  and began their fight to survive. Although they faced no dangers 
  from diseases or dangerous fauna, the colony lacked any form 
  of biotic material in which to grow crops. Lacking the advanced 
  technology of their pre-Maghiz predecessors, the colonists 
  were faced with two options – break up rock and gravel to 
  make sand, which could be seeded with their limited quantities 
  of biomass; and introduce some hardy species of grass, which 
  could take root in stony ground.
  Both approaches were taken. The grasses gradually spread 
  across the world, slowly breaking up rock for future flora to 
  take advantage of, whilst the colonists undertook the unending 
  labour of artificially creating soil. For centuries the population 
  size of the world remained small, shackled to its ability to 
  create farmable land. Hindered by the economic impossibility of 
  importing kilotons of earth, Laberv remained a minor member 
  of the Confederation, relegated to a problem of third rate 
  importance.
  Frustrated by no foreseeable end to a future of back breaking 
  work, the Laberv government decided to take matters into 
  their own hands. Visited several times by free traders and 
  corporations of questionable legality from the Reidan sector, 
  Laberv offered to establish an independent starport and trading 
  facility with a 500 year lease, in return for a small percentage 
  of all mercantile exchange. After a great deal of negotiation the 
  lease was signed with a consortium of business interests in 
  616, viewing Laberv as the natural bridging point between the 
  two subsectors.
  Unfortunately, whilst much interest was expressed by Reidan 
  traders, the Confederation took a dim view of the controversial 
  contract, using its political influence to restrict Darrian trade 
  flowing through Laberv. The consortium, facing financial ruin, 
  instead opened the starport to less salubrious ‘merchants’, 
  rapidly transforming the legitimate trade centre into un unofficial 
  pirate haven.
  Sensing a threat to its own shipping, the Confederation was 
  forced to intervene but could not overturn the governmental 
  lease without undermining the Darrian Constitution. To 
  circumvent the problem, the Confederation invoked its defence 
  policies, routing regular patrols through the system in 648 and 
  eventually establishing a naval base in 701 when the pirate 
  presence grew to endemic proportions.
  Over the following decades an unspoken agreement was 
  reached that Laberv would remain an open port for Reidan 
  traffic in return for piratical tendencies to be restrained whilst 
  within Confederation space. This self-policing policy worked 
  surprisingly well, albeit causing diplomatic stress between 
  Darrian and the more stable polities in the Foreven Sector.
  Points of Interest
  The small population of Laberv is scattered across the planet’s 
  single continent, which exists as an equatorial band with oceans 
  covering the northern and southern hemispheres. About half 
  are settled in sheltered valleys, farm smallholdings around 
  a central township. The rest engage in a nomadic lifestyle, 
  herding a genetically engineered type of goat, which they use 
  for milk, meat, skins and wool that they trade with the farmers. 
  
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  biomass produced by this facility is shipped to Laberv’s towns 
  where it is divided equitably between the farmsteads.
  In light of the problems Laberv experiences in their slow 
  terraforming, a scientific centre has been setup by the University 
  of Rimb using the latest TL14 and TL15 techniques to produce 
  more effective plants and grasses to speed up the spread of 
  vegetation. The facility is run by Professor Davh Behlimus, 
  famous for his botanical studies across the Confederation.
  Laberv City is ostensibly the world capital in which the 
  government maintains a tax office and a small set of 
  diplomatic offices. In reality the city is under the control of a 
  criminal syndicate, which makes life a bit difficult for legitimate 
  businesses. Taking advantage of the good quality starport 
  facilities and its low law level, the majority of Reidan smuggling 
  passes through here. Most of the port workers are not actually 
  Darrian citizens, for the most part being indentured workers 
  or retired ship crew. The city now boasts a population greater 
  than the rest of the planet, many of the staff and workers 
  raising families there.
  Ironically, the criminal enterprises now supply entertainment 
  for Darrian naval personnel on furlough from the fleet base. 
  This causes the Ministry of Defence a great deal of worry, 
  prompting the navy to post its least technologically sensitive 
  vessels in the system and subjecting crews to constant 
  surveillance from Special Arm operatives. However, the 
  presence of a readily accessible criminal underworld has 
  been useful to the Confederation in the past, especially 
  when needing to hire mercenaries or pirates for ‘unofficial’ 
  missions. 
  Mire (A665A95-C) Darrian Capital
  Diameter: 9,320km, Gravity: 0.7g, Atmosphere: Standard 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 51%, Climate: Temperate, 
  Population: 
  10,300,000,000, 
  Government: 
  Impersonal 
  bureaucracy, Manufacturing Tech Level: 12
  Ecology
  Mire exhibits a welcome climate, warm and pleasantly wet 
  but with slightly higher gravity than usual for a Darrian world. 
  Weather is generally benign, mostly clear sunny skies and 
  no significant tectonic activity occurs. It possesses its own 
  diverse ecology that appears, like its sister worlds of Rorre and 
  Condaria, to have been tailored for Darrian inhabitation.
  To preserve the ecosystem Mire has become an underground 
  world, which allows the surface to be used for agriculture and 
  natural preserves, the latter of which contain a wide range 
  of herbivores and predators that generally ignore or avoid 
  Darrians.
  laBerv naval Base
  Whilst not the shining example of a naval base, such 
  as the one in the Mire system, or a backslider like 
  Ilium’s, the Laberv base is a strange dichotomy of 
  professionalism and covert espionage. Posting to 
  Laberv is viewed as a double edged sword, the planet 
  side recreational possibilities are extensive but come 
  with an understanding that personnel are subject to 
  more intrusive observation by the Special Arm or Naval 
  Intelligence. For the majority of regulation abiding 
  Darrians, this is an acceptable sacrifice as most have 
  nothing to hide. Some however, fear appointments to 
  Laberv in case of past transgressions coming to light.
  The navy maintains a respectful relationship with vessels 
  that call on the system. Few ships are ever searched and 
  in return any pirates or smugglers behave themselves. 
  Off duty naval crew often form friendships with the 
  rogues who regularly visit but cut them no slack when 
  back in space. Discipline is tight with a work hard, play 
  hard ethic. The Darrians often mount cat-and-mouse 
  exercises using volunteer pirate vessels as targets or 
  invasion fleets. Not only does this alleviate the boredom 
  but also makes it clear that even while holding back, 
  Darrian military tactics and tech far exceed anything the 
  civilian vessels have.
  Like Ilium, Laberv base uses a large hollowed out 
  asteroid for its main shipyard and barracks. In reality 
  however, a second, secret naval base exists at the fourth 
  gas giant of the system. Supported by rigid dirigibles the 
  base hides in the atmosphere, carried along by high 
  speed winds. The base is entirely manmade, being 
  both streamlined and possessing grav drives if ever 
  needing to deploy to higher orbit. The million dTon 
  headquarters has been constructed over decades by 
  naval engineers and remains a strategic supply base 
  capable of encapsulating cruisers for repair. It also acts 
  as the listening post for dozens of meson linked sensors 
  hidden throughout the system.
  Each herding family drives their flocks from one sparse patch 
  of grass to another, generally circumnavigating the world every 
  couple of years.
  One of the strange articles in the starport lease is the 
  government’s right to all sewage produced by the city. Removed 
  from any requirement to treat their own waste, the leaseholders 
  happily constructed a massive pipeline, which deposits the 
  muck in a specially designed manure production plant. The 
  
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  History
  Mire was third in its colonisation efforts losing out to Condaria 
  due to its high gravity, which Darrians found unpleasant. The 
  existing ecosystem, however, made settlement near effortless. 
  The colony was able to harvest native crops and animals for food, 
  so the only support required was the shipment of manufacturing 
  equipment to build housing for future colonists. By –950 the 
  population had exceeded several hundred thousand and was 
  exporting agricultural products back to Daryen to pay for its 
  import of high tech devices. Other than Rorre it was the only 
  colony to achieve economic self sufficiency prior to the Maghiz.
  After the tragic events of the disaster, Mire was possessed 
  with a functioning, if crude, industrial infrastructure, decided to 
  appoint itself as the temporary centre of the remaining Darrian 
  civilisation. Plans were laid to handle the state of emergency 
  and its organisers, with consummate forethought, began to 
  shepherd metallic asteroids into orbit as raw materials to build a 
  maintenance shipyard. Rescue missions were sent to outposts 
  known about by the Mire scientific community and emergency 
  supplies manufactured for colonies, most of which were far 
  from self-sufficient. The situation looked dire but optimism was 
  high that under Mire leadership, the scattered worlds could pull 
  through.
  Then, three years after the Maghiz, a ship returning from 
  Condaria brought terrifying news. A hitherto unsuspected 
  gamma-ray pulse capable of crossing interstellar distances had 
  gutted the planet’s electronics, reducing it to a pre-industrial 
  level. Projections indicated that the ship had only beaten the 
  Maghiz wave front by a matter of days and panic ensued.
  Dr. Dahn Forstuhr, a jump space engineer on sabbatical on 
  Mire when Daryen was devastated, correctly interpreted the 
  implications of the impending disaster and spent the remaining 
  hours printing out a hard copy of every technical text he had.
  Whilst others scrabbled to build EMP shields or insert power 
  surge protection to shelter as much electronic equipment as 
  they could, Forstuhr loaded one of the grounded ships that he 
  was servicing with scavenged drive component fabricators, 
  welded them inside metal boxes and took the vessel as deep 
  under the sea as he dared; whereupon the power plant he had 
  also been repairing before the Maghiz warning, overheated and 
  failed.
  Trapped beneath the waves as the GRB hit, with no pressure 
  suit, no power and surface communications disrupted, Dr 
  Forstuhr discovered to his irony that whilst he had saved the 
  fabricators, there was no way to let the survivors know. He 
  spent his last days writing notes by torchlight on how to re-
  establish jump drive production. This selfless heroic effort 
  eventually earned him the posthumous title of ‘Saviour of the 
  Confederation’.
  On the surface of Mire, last minute emergency efforts proved 
  next to useless against the still moderately strong pulse. Most 
  computerised equipment died, but some newly manufactured 
  turbines and simple electrical supply equipment, designed as 
  relief shipments for the smaller outposts, was found to have 
  survived and was quickly installed. Lacking mechanisation, 
  those of the populace not assigned to food gathering were 
  formed into recovery teams. Mire dropped briefly to TL5 but 
  steadfastly crawled their way back up the technology ladder. 
  After 600 years they finally regained orbit and began to make 
  use of the resources circling the planet to construct orbital 
  factories.
  The chance discovery of Forstuhr’s ship by a fishing trawler 
  gave the people of Mire the keys to the stars. Using his detailed 
  notes combined with the sophisticated fabricators in the vessel’s 
  hold, they managed to construct a jump drive after only two 
  decades of work. A production line for the engines was given 
  top priority and soon Mire was sending expeditions to the long 
  isolated colonies.
  With their technological advantage, Mire stoically restored 
  interstellar communication and set itself up as the centre of a 
  new community of independent worlds. Most of the re-contacted 
  colonies were happy to follow their lead, each one contributing 
  manpower and resources to more needy planets. This economic 
  aid consumed most of Mire’s production for several centuries, 
  yet other, equally important issues were thrown in its lap; 
  namely the recent settlement of all the neighbouring subsectors 
  by new peoples.
  A chance meeting with Zhodani in –187 initially allowed a 
  frenetic exchange of trade, which greatly helped the struggling 
  Confederation. Later it was discovered that the Zhodani had 
  been long aware of the Darrians and withheld their aid. The 
  revelation of Zhodani hypocrisy soured the relationship between 
  the two, causing the Consulate to be viewed with mistrust. 
  Spurred by these meetings and revelations, the community was 
  forced to revise its political structure. Later problems competing 
  with the Sword Worlds and signing of an official alliance with 
  the Imperium finally spelled the end of Mire holding all political 
  power. The Confederation became an independent entity and 
  whilst still headquartered on Mire, the world itself was regulated 
  to an equal member of the coalition.
  Points of Interest
  With the largest population of the Confederation worlds, Mire 
  remains an economic powerhouse, producing many of the 
  generic devices and goods used throughout Darrian space. 
  Most heavy industry is performed in orbit but, like other hi-tech 
  worlds in the Confederation, some capacity is retained planet-
  side in case of war or natural disaster.
  
  141
  Government is a major occupation on Mire. Bureaucrats and 
  military personnel are to be found everywhere. Most of the 
  sector-wide corporations keep offices here. One of the major 
  tourist attractions is the Unity Palace in the capital Theh’ld. This 
  immense building is one of the few structures on Mire permitted 
  to extend above the surface. It acts as the Confederation’s main 
  bureaucratic centre and military administration headquarters. 
  Whilst the impressively tall diamond sheeted towers look 
  suitably impressive, the real work occurs in the sub basements, 
  heavily protected against possible orbital bombardment.
  Mire is the location of the Confederation’s third military base. 
  Unlike Ilium or Laberv the base is a distributed series of small 
  installations throughout the system, designed for multiple 
  redundancy, each is extremely well armed and protected. 
  Rumours suggest every minor planetoid has 90% of its internal 
  volume filled with super-cooled water to act as an energy sump 
  for black globe generators. Save for some Zhodani agents no 
  one outside of the Ministry of Defence is quite sure of the truth 
  of the matter.
  The Confederation Guard have several planet-side bases, each 
  sited inside its own mountain fortress. Basic training occurs 
  in the more remote areas of the world where no significant 
  ecological damage will be incurred. More challenging terrain 
  however, requires the troops to be shipped to other planets 
  or moons. The Guard man the subsurface meson defence 
  system, an extensive network of deep crust tunnels in which 
  huge cannon are mounted on rails and randomly moved to 
  prevent advanced knowledge of their location being revealed 
  to an enemy force. 
  Nosea (B2326BB-C)
  Diameter: 3,133km, Gravity: 0.15g, Atmosphere: Very 
  thin oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 20%, Climate: Cold, 
  Population: 6,100,000, Government: Non-charismatic leader, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 12
  Ecology
  Nosea was named by explorers who were disappointed in the 
  small hydrographics percentage of the world. A frigid desert 
  world, actual water coverage is about 5 percent in a series of 
  small oases fed by subsurface aquifers; the remainder is ice-
  cap.
  The planet lacks any indigenous life forms. Some life has 
  been introduced by later settlers, cacti and plants with palm-
  like foliage which grow around the intermittent small pools 
  and several species of warm-blooded reptiles adapted to arid 
  conditions. Unfortunately, several types of flies introduced to 
  provide an intermediate step in the food cycle have adapted 
  to life away from the oases and are endemic save at the polar 
  icecaps, where their numbers become more tolerable.
  History
  After its discovery by early Darrian scout teams, Nosea was 
  passed over for colonisation, much better planets being 
  available elsewhere. No activity occurred on the planet 
  until the First Frontier War. During a blitzkrieg by the Sword 
  Worlds, which briefly captured Terant 340 and Trifuge, Nosea 
  was utilised as a forward post by the invading navy, using the 
  icecaps as refuelling points. A crude installation was erected 
  but, several months later, the Sword Worlds were repulsed back 
  to Cunnonic.
  The world remained abandoned until 617 when the 
  Confederation military decided it would be prudent to fortify the 
  system in case of an opportunistic attack by the Sword Worlds, 
  whilst the Imperium remained distracted, embroiled in its own 
  civil war.
  Although no threat materialised, the Darrians found that Nosea 
  formed a convenient location for a strategic base and continued 
  to support its existence. Civilian population brought in to mine ice 
  for fuel, also ran part time businesses providing entertainment 
  for off duty troops. Almost by accident a colony began to form, 
  barely sealed prefab shacks were slowly replaced with more 
  permanent fused glass buildings, the original bars expanded to 
  include holo-theatres, gaming halls and workshops to service 
  military equipment.
  Around 1075 the Confederation refocused its efforts on 
  building a major military base at Entrope, over the next few 
  years gradually reducing its military presence on Nosea to the 
  point of bringing the native population to economic collapse. 
  Disgruntled by the lack of consideration shown by the naval 
  admiral in charge of the entire planet, the civilian inhabitants 
  demanded the right to open up the world to non-Confederation 
  shipping. Stone walling from the military eventually resulted in 
  an increasing level of agitation until the world was placed under 
  martial law to keep the peace.
  Renewed aggression by the Sword Worlds in the Fourth 
  Frontier War reversed the garrisoning problem; Nosea being 
  significantly reinforced in expectation of the Entropic World 
  blitzkrieg continuing down through Trifuge towards Mire. 
  Although frightened by the prospect of war, as time passed the 
  population of Nosea realised the annexation of Entrope and its 
  sister worlds was a boon of incalculable worth, base personnel 
  expanding by a factor of 10. The influx of new troops swamped 
  the local economy with credit, allowing the world to make 
  serious investments into its own industrial base, in turn drawing 
  further immigration.
  Since the end of the Fourth Frontier War, several brigades of 
  Imperial Marines have been seconded to Nosea where they 
  train Confederation Guard units in planetary assault and drop 
  troop tactics.
  
  142
  Points of Interest
  The surface of Nosea is a diverse combination of rocky and 
  sandy deserts, with rock formations providing crumbling cliffs, 
  gullies and mesas to break up the terrain. These surface features 
  are put to good use by the Confederation Guard and Imperial 
  Marines, who are forced to perform extensive exercises in the 
  frigid climate. The only upside is that training missions allow 
  them to wear full combat armour, which is the only protection 
  against the incessant swarms of biting sand flies that plague 
  everyone.
  Due to its extremely light gravity, much of the naval base is 
  actually planet-side. Several main installations are placed 
  around the equatorial belt. Each has huge bunker doors 
  that slide open to reveal subsurface hangers for ships of up 
  to 100,000 tons. Munitions, rations and vehicle storage are 
  extensive as befits a full fleet logistical centre. The barracks 
  alone provide room for 50,000 troops but save for a brief period 
  during the Fourth Frontier War the base is rarely manned to 
  full capacity. The insidious flies can be found even inside the 
  supposedly hermetically sealed bases.
  A civilian starport, separate from the naval base, is located in 
  the northern icecap adjacent to the capital. It primarily serves as 
  a refuelling point for traders transiting through the ‘Gram Arm’ of 
  the Spinward Main. Vessels registered in the Sword Worlds are 
  not made welcome in-system, but are always given access to 
  fuel if requested, escorted by a SDB. 
  Most of the capital is built into the ice, which is completely static 
  and ranges from two to five metres thick. Aside from the military 
  entertainment quarter, few natives actually live in the capital. 
  Most commute from small settlements beyond the edge of the 
  icecap where the temperature is slightly warmer and rock buttes 
  grant spectacular scenery.
  The natives, used to the devilish insects, wear skin tight 
  Advanced Desert Suits (see page 155 of the Central Supply 
  Catalogue), thick cowled robes and full face respirators, which 
  prevent the flies from biting them. Most private homes are full 
  of the sweet smell of smoking incense, which helps to keep 
  the insects outside. The residences are generally carved out 
  of natural rock with large windows overlooking the rich ochre 
  and reds of the desert and some sort of waterfall or fountain 
  feature to fill the home with delicate noises of tinkling water. 
  Roget (B566777-9)
  Diameter: 7,133km, Gravity: 0.45g, Atmosphere: Standard 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 56%, Climate: Temperate, 
  Population: 40,000,000, Government: Multiple societies, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 9
  Ecology
  Another of the garden worlds beneficially positioned close to 
  Daryen, the planet is an idyllic paradise. Warm with few clouds 
  and plenty of sun, the weather is more violent than is typical for a 
  Darrian world, with hurricanes occurring frequently. Vegetation 
  is verdant; a large proportion of the planet covered in luxuriant 
  jungle. The highlands are generally veldt covered plateaus. 
  The planet is inhabited by a vibrant swathe of large animals, 
  many of which are dangerous and reproduce at an extremely 
  high rate. This leads to strange swings in carnivore/herbivore 
  ratios. The predators over breed, causing mini extinctions of 
  their own food source, before turning on each other and clearing 
  the path for another wave of herbivore expansion.
  History
  When settled Roget was expected to become self sustaining 
  in short order. However, Darrian occupation drew the attention 
  of the native animal life, forcing the colonists to erect fences 
  and other deterrents to keep the fauna pacified, since their high 
  breeding rates repopulated culled areas in the space of months.
  These difficulties slowed down the rate of colonisation, so that 
  by the time of the Maghiz, less than 30,000 inhabitants were 
  residing on world and they lacked a fully developed industrial 
  infrastructure. Warned of the approaching pulse, the colonists 
  relocated into a more mountainous region, which provided 
  better natural defences against the native life forms and allowed 
  access to the resources that their leaders predicted they would 
  need.
  Despite the mild effect on their existing electronics, the colonists 
  had no way of replacing invaluable equipment. Their backslide 
  stopped at TL4, managing to hang on by adopting a slash 
  and burn strategy which finally turned the tables on the fauna. 
  By –860 when intersystem communication ceased, Roget 
  had recovered to proto TL5 and survival seemed relatively 
  guaranteed.
  The next contact with Roget, by a Mire scout ship in –275, failed 
  to locate the colony. Guessing incompetence, a second mission 
  was sent three months later equipped with better sensors. This 
  time the location of the colony was discovered, strangled by 
  hundreds of years worth of cloud forest growth. There was no 
  sign of the colonists. Despite several more trips with forensic 
  and archaeological teams, no trace of Darrian occupation save 
  for the original buildings could be discovered.
  Unable to discover the ultimate fate of 30,000 colonists, the 
  planet was placed under interdiction, access only permitted 
  to occasional science teams who scoured the world each 
  
  143
  time a new breakthrough was made in sensor technology, or 
  a historian came up with an increasingly preposterous theory 
  explaining the settler’s absence.
  With the conclusion of the Second Frontier War, the 
  Confederation offered their Aslan allies land of their own to settle, 
  granting them the right to pick whatever territory they liked. To 
  the Darrians’ surprise a large contingent of the Aslan selected 
  Roget, adamant even after the Confederation explained the 
  circumstances of the uninhabited world’s Red rating.
  Five Aslan clans settled the planet each claiming a separate 
  continent, preferring their own company and culture to 
  assimilation with Darrians. However, since the Aslan of Roget 
  provided the best combat troops in the Confederation, four 
  centuries of retiring ex-military veterans slowly eroded many 
  racial strictures.
  Today the majority of Roget’s Aslan are fluent in Te-zlodh, which 
  has increasingly supplanted Trokh as the primary language 
  of trade and friendship, the latter now reserved for formal 
  occasions. Whilst they still stick to the traditions of territory and 
  pride, the inhabitants of Roget are fully accepting of Aslan who 
  wish to live as their Darrian brothers.
  Points of Interest
  Although ruling their own regions with strict autonomy, the clans 
  settle planetary decisions amicably, working well together for 
  mutual benefit. Roget’s starport, a hollowed out minor planetoid, 
  was built as a joint effort between the clans, its orbital location 
  chosen to pass over each territory with relative equality. As 
  traditionalists, many of the native Aslan lack the education to 
  maintain the station, which is staffed by a very large population 
  of Darrian technicians and sociologists.
  Despite initial worries that Roget would prove to be some 
  form of Pandora’s box, no disaster has yet befallen the Aslan. 
  Indeed the race has thrived on the violent world, the indigenous 
  species providing great hunting challenges and recovering at a 
  high enough rate to sustain the high population level of Aslan.
  Rorre (D765657-3)
  Diameter: 10,600km, Gravity: 0.9g, Atmosphere: Standard 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 50%, Climate: Temperate, 
  Population: 1,224,000, Government: Philosophic sociocracy, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 3
  Ecology
  Although possessed of a warm and mild climate, this world 
  experiences a gravity that is considered hellish by many 
  Darrians. It has an extensive botanical ecosystem similar to pre-
  Maghiz Daryen, providing many edible fruits and vegetables. 
  Animal life is minimal however, limited mainly to innocuous 
  insects and some avian species which feed on them, or the 
  nectar and sap of the indigenous plants.
  History
  The first world to be settled by Darrians, it was named after 
  the colony’s founder. Ghorge Rorre selected the planet not 
  for its proximity or ecosystem but rather for the unpleasantly 
  high gravity. He foresaw potential problems for his luddite 
  settlement, fearing they would be displaced if they occupied a 
  paradise. So choosing the worst planet within range of a single 
  jump, he requested that Rorre be granted as a sanctuary for 
  those who wished to avoid the environmental corruption of 
  higher technology.
  Seeing no possible use for the world, Daryen granted his 
  request and made it a protectorate but left the organisation 
  and funding of the proposed colony in Rorre’s hands. With a 
  local cadre of followers all obstacles were overcome and the 
  pioneers landed on their new planet. Their efforts were closely 
  studied by scientists who were hopeful of soon colonising the 
  other nearby worlds.
  Many troubles were experienced with the higher gravity, yet 
  overcome by stoic endurance. New techniques had to be 
  mastered by the initial settlers whose purpose was to clear 
  land and build shelters for the next delivery of colonists. Tools 
  weighed more than twice what the Darrians were used to; torn 
  muscles and broken bones became endemic, slowing progress. 
  The colonial arrivals began to bottleneck but Ghorge Rorre was 
  determined that their colony should be built with only the level of 
  technology that they would live with forever more.
  It took 30 years of backbreaking labour before all of Rorre’s 
  followers were finally transported to their new world. Life was 
  subsistence level farming, with any spare time being used to 
  expand dwellings or craft fabric for clothes. Yet the colony was 
  completely independent, having even brought medical plants 
  with them for homeopathic remedies.
  The planet took its toll on the colonists, the high gravity causing 
  early heart failures and even a simple fall could prove crippling. 
  Childbirth proved to be especially difficult and for several 
  decades it seemed that the colony would fail, unable to replace 
  its numbers. Many settlers died before the first children reached 
  reproductive age but despite refusing medical aid from Daryen 
  they did accept a steady trickle of further colonists, bolstering 
  their population.
  When Rorre died only 17 years after setting foot on the planet, 
  still middle aged, they named the world in his honour and 
  continued with his vision.
  
  144
  By the time of the Maghiz, the colony was beginning to flourish. 
  A third generation were approaching adulthood and although 
  shorter and stockier than their parents and the few grandparents 
  who survived to see them, they were beginning to adapt to the 
  higher gravity. Arthritis and congestive heart failure were still 
  commonplace but each new generation lived a little longer.
  The disaster had little affect on the colony but served to raise 
  the spirit of Ghorge in the eyes of his people. Technology 
  was something to be treated with respect and not pursued 
  unnecessarily. 
  The 
  planet’s 
  constitution 
  forbad 
  any 
  technological development beyond TL3 but did not prevent the 
  theoretical advancement of knowledge. Some colonists had 
  been eminent scientists or philosophers and lacking any other 
  form of entertainment they began to hold classes concerning 
  their subjects to debate theoretical advances. Hard sciences, 
  requiring empirical observations, soon fell by the wayside 
  leaving the social sciences at the forefront of debate.
  Over the centuries social dynamics began to orientate 
  communities 
  around 
  particular 
  philosophical 
  teachers, 
  eventually becoming the structure of planetary government. 
  Ethics, meditation and health improving martial arts became 
  central to life.
  Re-contact by Mire in –275 was treated with polite indifference 
  but created the need to set aside a region for small craft to 
  land. Permission to build an orbital port facility was granted 
  and a group of ‘cultural interpreters’ were trained to liaise with 
  anyone wishing to land on planet. Those more gravity tolerant 
  visitors who did were so impressed by the peaceful society and 
  polite generosity of the colonists, that they spread their positive 
  impressions to family and friends. 
  Sensing a genuine interest in their teachings and understanding 
  the inherent distress caused by their high gravity, the Rorrites 
  permitted the construction of a limited number of monastic 
  retreats utilising grav plates built into the floors to provide a 
  more comfortable environment for visitors. Before long, Rorre 
  had become a favoured location for psychological treatment, 
  self analysis and philosophical study, the world’s long seasons 
  allowing extended vacations or sabbaticals for scholars and 
  businessmen alike.
  The one significant event that greatly changed Rorre was the 
  psychic purges in the early 800s. Fleeing the Imperium, a large 
  number of psionics sought asylum in the Confederation. Those 
  who were accepted found themselves secretly transported to 
  Rorre, where they discovered a large incidence of native Darrian 
  psionic practitioners. All were made welcome, ultimately adding 
  to the world’s gene pool.
  Today many of the inhabitants of Rorre are psionically active in 
  one way or another. Few ever reveal their abilities to outsiders 
  and fewer still leave their world save for special attachment 
  to the Confederation government. Instead they use their gifts 
  to make visitors welcome or in the treatment of psychological 
  disorders.
  Points of Interest
  Rorre is, for Darrians, one of the most popular resort locations 
  in Confederation space, but the number of tourists allowed to 
  visit each year is limited, due in part to its very low population 
  level. The relaxing climate, friendly welcoming people and 
  lack of telecommunications makes every visit a refreshing 
  experience... whilst in the gravity controlled retreats. Travel 
  outside the few permitted technological enclaves is permitted, 
  but requires the use of a medical exoskeleton (see Darrian 
  Equipment) or dedicated training for the gravity, depending on 
  what the visitor is used to. 
  Crime is nearly non-existent and deaths only occur from 
  misadventure. Violence is not tolerated but will be stopped, if 
  necessary, with force in order to protect the greater good.
  With a society held at TL3 the inhabitants have access to simple 
  electrical devices such as lighting or telegraph systems but 
  tend to avoid using such devices if a more natural solution can 
  be found. Oil lamps fuelled from an inflammable tree sap are 
  preferable to incandescent bulbs, for example.
  Housing often takes the form of hollow arbours, specially trained 
  to grow in the fashion of the now extinct Orchard trees. Other 
  residences can be anything from a roofed platform built in the 
  canopy of a forest, to a sophisticated log cabin.
  Rorre follows the strict interpretation of Yikan Yikan’s philosophy 
  ‘All living things must be allowed to live their lives’, so all food 
  on the world is vegetarian. Rorre cooking is a delight, with an 
  expansive range of fruits, nuts, vegetables and salads prepared 
  with different flavoured plant based oils and seasoned with 
  countless subtle spices.
  Spume (C140200-A)
  Diameter: 1,460km, Gravity: 0.05g, Atmosphere: Thin tainted, 
  Hydrographics: 0%, Climate: Temperate, Population: 428, 
  Government: None, Manufacturing Tech Level: A
  Ecology
  Spume is little more than an minor planetoid, internally heated by 
  its high concentration of radioactive heavy metals. The internal 
  heat has resulted in very strong volcanism, which is out gassing 
  a thin oxygen nitrogen atmosphere, tainted by radioactive 
  gases. With no significant gravity, most of the atmosphere is 
  blown away by the stellar wind.
  The combination of temperature, toxic atmosphere and intense 
  radiation, prevents any form of life existing on the surface. It 
  
  145
  gained the name Spume from the immense volcanic plumes 
  that arch above the world like fountains hundreds of kilometres 
  tall. The constant ash fall covers the surface like a multicoloured 
  patchwork.
  History
  Originally colonised by Daryen, Spume, like Anselhome, was 
  settled for resources rather than comfort. No attempt was 
  made to terraform a world so unsuitable for living. It simply 
  granted easy access to rare metals, especially radioactive ores 
  constantly being extruded by the active volcanoes.
  Initially a large refining complex was built, utilising automated 
  robotic miners to collect and process the ore. A few Darrians 
  remained on world to oversee the equipment, although little 
  intercession was required. When the Maghiz cut off the mining 
  complex, they abandoned the station, evacuating to Mire.
  Mining teams returned in –263 seeking to reopen Spume as 
  a source for rare metals, but no sign of the original complex 
  remained, the machines and refineries long since engulfed 
  by volcanic outfall. A reconstruction effort began, the world’s 
  convenient proximity to Daryen making export of refined ores 
  increasingly worthwhile. However, the new manufacturing 
  complexes remained modest, conditions on the planet being 
  remarkably deadly for Darrian workers. 
  During the first and second Frontier Wars, Spume remained 
  of minor strategic consideration. The Sword World fleets 
  concentrated their efforts coreward, maintaining their annexation 
  of the Entropic Group and the cluster of worlds below them. In 
  the Fourth Frontier War, the Sword Worlds changed strategy, 
  targeting Spume as part of a plan to undermine the Darrian 
  Confederation’s manufacturing capability.
  The unexpected incursion took Darrian commanders by 
  surprise and the mining operations were heavily damaged from 
  a forward probe. Responding to this threat, a picketing force 
  was posted to the system, just prior to the main spearhead sent 
  to capture it. The Sword World squadron was neatly ambushed, 
  the survivors sent back with a bloody nose. Since that battle, 
  Spume has retained a small squadron to dissuade incursions 
  from Narsil and is now the location of a Confederation naval 
  base.
  Over the last few decades various mining companies with 
  investments in Spume amalgamated their various efforts, 
  resulting in the formation of the Pihrund Corporation. The 
  virtual monopoly has allowed construction of a domed village 
  called Dryavis, from which remote mining machines are 
  directed. These advanced facilities have cut down the loss 
  of life, which Spume has reaped over the years, miners and 
  technicians rarely having to venture out onto the surface to 
  direct excavations first hand.
  The population remains small and transient, only enough 
  remote operators to control the machines and administration 
  staff to support them. Wages are high to compensate for living 
  in the domed environment and cover the constant dangers 
  posed by eruptions. 
  Points of Interest
  Spume is considered a hardship post for most naval personnel. 
  The base is an orbital complex around the one gas giant present 
  in the system, Spume itself being considered too unstable for 
  permanent facilities, even in orbit. As with most of Darrian’s 
  naval bases, it is located within a small planetoid, which acts 
  as a heavily reinforced fortification. Unfortunately, the lack of a 
  ground base or local population to run recreation centres makes 
  the base a rather utilitarian place. The main TL10 manufacturing 
  facilities are actually part of the naval dockyards that maintain 
  the fleet stationed there.
  Numerous other installations are scattered across the system, 
  providing observation posts, resupply points and covert missile 
  pods loaded with stealth torpedoes. It is has been turned into a 
  major stumbling block in case of invasion via Narsil.
  With very little observation or interaction from the locally posted 
  naval forces, Spume has been left to develop as it will. Rumours 
  have begun to spread that the Pihrund Corporation has begun 
  to terminate long standing contracts with existing staff, replacing 
  its workforce with cheaper labourers. Wherever the new workers 
  are coming from, the profit margins displayed by the company 
  in recent months have seen significant improvements.
  The planet itself is a treacherous place with a subtle rain of 
  dust and small gravel from high orbit. Although gravitational 
  acceleration is low, the small rock fragments can still pack a 
  punch, threatening Vacc Suits not properly armoured for the 
  environment.
  Earthquakes too are a major threat. The domed village is heavily 
  over engineered against the risk of fracture. Dryavis has yet to 
  experience a class 10 quake, which a few pessimists claim will 
  shatter the structure completely. Some of the miners have taken 
  to sealing their private residences and installing bulkheads 
  inside, which can pose some problems when moving around 
  inside the accommodation modules.
  A number of old-timers who have worked on Spume all their 
  lives spout wild tales about the vanished pre-Maghiz base. Their 
  stories claim that the base still exists, buried under centuries of 
  volcanic outfall, its storage bunkers stuffed with an emperor’s 
  ransom of precious metals; platinum, iridium and radioactives. 
  On retirement some miners go out on personal survey missions 
  but the base has yet to be located and the trips often claim the 
  lives of those who search for it, lost or killed whilst exploring the 
  volcanic fissures which litter the landscape.
  
  146
  Stern-Stern (B321558-B)
  Diameter: 4,803km, Gravity: 0.25g, Atmosphere: Very thin 
  oxygen-nitrogen, tainted by fluorine/chlorine compounds, 
  Hydrographics: 
  6%, 
  Climate: 
  Temperate, 
  Population: 
  700,000, Government: Feudal Technocracy, Manufacturing 
  Tech Level: 11
  Ecology
  Stern-Stern is a life bearing world but suffers from an atmosphere 
  tainted by fluorinated and chlorinated compounds. The burning 
  sensation on the eyes and nasal passages, combined with the 
  astringent odours, are so strong that the local population find it 
  necessary to install full life support systems in their homes to 
  filter out the chemicals.
  Atmosphere aside, Stern-Stern has a primitive ecology based 
  on fern-like cactuses. The extreme aridity prevents most plants 
  from exceeding man-height. They survive by condensing trace 
  amounts of water vapour on their fronds. Animals likewise 
  are specialised for desert survival being vividly coloured 
  crustaceans, which mainly browse the ferns. They pose no 
  danger to the colonists, who often keep the small creatures as 
  pets.
  Stern-Stern does experience quite violent weather, such as 
  hot simooms but since the air pressure is so low it has little 
  significant effect on people or structures. Save for sunrise 
  and sunset, the sky is generally a deep indigo and cloudless. 
  Nightfall sometimes causes the little existent water vapour to 
  condense into a thin mist. Days are very hot and nights similarly 
  cold.
  History
  Not one of the worlds considered for colonisation due to its 
  almost corrosive atmosphere, Stern-Stern was selected for 
  industrial development instead. A few mining installations were 
  created, which ran with minimal supervision.
  After the Maghiz the world continued to produce metals for those 
  colonies desperately short of construction materials. Gradually 
  though, trade ships ceased arriving, Stern-Stern’s out of the 
  way location making it difficult to reach them. Faced with a slow 
  extinction, the Darrians abandoned the planet since it lacked 
  any form of edible agriculture, the chlorine of the atmosphere 
  finding its way into fruits and vegetables planted on the surface.
  With its mining and manufacturing equipment mothballed, the 
  workers shielded the machinery as best they could, lacking any 
  other use for their stockpiled metals. Their efforts to protect the 
  industrial infrastructure against the predicted EMP although 
  conscientious were a waste of effort, since the fading gamma-
  ray burst barely caused even radio interference.
  After the resuscitation of Darrian interstellar travel, Stern-Stern 
  was left abandoned for generations, no world having the time, 
  resources, or perhaps more importantly, the inclination to 
  reopen the factories there. Eventually in –31 a volunteer group 
  of Ilium residents were convinced to settle on Stern-Stern with 
  the promise of pre-Maghiz technology to help them restart 
  operations. Even they found the atmospheric taint beyond 
  endurance and the planet was abandoned for a second time.
  For a while the future of the planet looked grim. In 117 several 
  Daryen universities sent out archaeological expeditions 
  to recover as much high technology from the mothballed 
  industrial centres as possible. Much of it had been looted 
  over the decades but their surveys showed that enough of the 
  infrastructure remained to begin profitable aluminium alloy and 
  crystaliron processing. Some factories still retained their robotic 
  production lines and automated form moulding devices to forge 
  programmed bespoke components.
  By 133 a new series of colonising ships had arrived at Stern-
  Stern carrying prefabricated residential accommodations 
  and new air filtering devices to cope with the planet’s taint. A 
  core team of 10,000 colonists began to overhaul the mining 
  complexes, fitting jury-rigged patches for sections that no 
  longer functioned or had been scavenged in the past. Ingenuity 
  and hard work paid off, the world shipping its first cargos of 
  crystaliron within 18 months.
  The new colonists continued expanding the industrial 
  complexes, the raw resources eagerly gobbled up by the reviving 
  Confederation. Whilst profitable, finding people to emigrate to 
  Stern-Stern was exceptionally difficult. In desperation the world 
  even offered an amnesty for exiles that would be willing to work 
  for a new start. The move proved to be exceptionally popular 
  but was eventually shut down by the Confederation over 
  fears of turning Stern-Stern into a seditious world of resentful 
  inhabitants.
  Enough new settlers were attracted to boost the planet’s 
  economy, which gradually achieved self sufficiency by the 
  middle of the next century. Few things of note happened to the 
  planet after that time, save the increased productivity required 
  during the frontier wars and the lead-up to the Darrian’s 
  liberation of the Entropic Group in 788.
  Despite being the leading manufacturer of prefabricated metal 
  sheets, girders and any other submitted form, Stern-Stern has 
  perhaps overly relied on its existent pre-Maghiz machinery. 
  Whilst advanced, the factories are dedicated to specific types of 
  fabrication, which has prevented the world from diversifying into 
  other types of production. With some serious investment, Stern-
  Stern could easily be a source of higher Tech Level materials 
  and devices.
  
  147
  Points of Interest
  Stern-Stern is a major transition point for commerce with the 
  Reidain sector. In fact much of its output is traded with worlds in 
  the neighbouring region. Since the sector has a bad reputation 
  for piracy, only armed traders ship finished goods across the 
  border, sometimes forming convoys under the protection of one 
  of Stern-Stern’s naval escorts to ensure security. Unlike Laberv, 
  pirates are not permitted in the system.
  The factories and mining machines are actually huge mobile 
  gravitic vehicles capable of moving towards the closest mine 
  supplying the material required. Much of the production 
  continues during the movement, often with several different 
  machines engaging themselves in a giant land-train. The open-
  cast mining machine leading, its ore shunted into the next 
  factory in line that refines the ore into metal, which in turn is 
  passed back to a component builder, and so on.
  The degree of harvesting is so great that the planet’s surface 
  is literally scarred by the tracks of the huge harvesting 
  machines. With such immense amounts of industrial activity, 
  the atmospheric poisoning is actually getting worse, not better.
  Most visitors are loathed to visit Stern-Stern because of its 
  terrible acrid chlorine smell. Those that do descend to the world 
  wear cheap disposable Vacc Suits, which are junked after use. 
  Normal clothing, even if purged of the scent, tends to fall apart 
  several washes later.
  Terant 340 (D1405A7-9)
  Diameter: 1,100km, Gravity: 0.05g, Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-
  nitrogen, tainted by dust particles, Hydrographics: 1%, Climate: 
  Temperate, Population: 520,000, Government: Charismatic 
  Dictator, Manufacturing Tech Level: 9
  Ecology
  Terant is a small planet located on the edge of an asteroid 
  belt. It is a desert world that unusually has a thin breathable 
  atmosphere. Heavily cratered from the constant bombardment 
  of other asteroids, the world has a bleak, blasted appearance. 
  It has no natural ecosystem, due to the severe lack of water, 
  which in turn causes atmospheric problems with dust. 
  With no water to wash particles out of the air, winds whip up 
  the highly abrasive dust causing vision to be limited in the 
  haze. Storms can be very bad despite the low air pressure, 
  fine motes of dust scouring most materials and penetrating any 
  environment or device not sealed against vacuum. The dust 
  gives the sky a ruddy orange glow but limits vision to a few 
  kilometres. Breathing the air without filters induces breathing 
  problems, from a combination of irritation causing chronic 
  coughing and the gradual scarring of lung tissue. 
  The planet is the largest chunk of circling debris prevented from 
  coalescing into a planet by the disturbing influence of the white 
  dwarf companion and three gas giants. The system has no 
  other worlds between gas giant and planetoid size.
  History
  Located away from the Darrian Group, Terant 340 was not 
  involved in the major colonisation efforts. A research station 
  was set up to observe astrophysical anomalies that fascinated 
  Darrian physicists. After observing some odd gravitational 
  interactions between the planetoids and the usual gas density 
  attracted to the planet, a decision was made to establish a 
  permanent science base. Soon after however, the project was 
  placed under a security restriction, access forbidden to non-
  cleared personnel.
  Studies continued on the world investigating the secret behind 
  its abnormal atmosphere but were cut short by the Maghiz. The 
  science base was one of the few installations completely cut 
  off from the remnants of civilisation, a victim of its now covert 
  nature. When no supply ships arrived the science staff came to 
  the chilling conclusion that they had been quarantined.
  Although they had a breathable atmosphere, water was in 
  chronic shortage, the majority of supplies dedicated to the 
  hydroponics gardens. A massive project was undertaken to use 
  their few non-jump capable spacecraft to redirect some comets 
  into close orbit in order to mine them for water. The effort took 
  years to reach fruition, almost ending in disaster when one of 
  the improvised tugs burned out its drive and the comet struck 
  the planet. Fortunately the damage inflicted was mild and the 
  scientists were able to overcome most of the problems incurred. 
  Ultimately, although the effects of the EMP effects of the Maghiz 
  were barely detectable, the population of Terant suffered the 
  same backslide as the other colonies. Lack of medicines, 
  no replacements for worn equipment and the necessity of 
  constant work to maintain what functional facilities remained, 
  all conspired to undermine the educational standard of the 
  next few generations; their knowledge regressing to what was 
  needed to survive.
  When they were discovered six centuries later, the inhabitants 
  had devolved to a caste society, where the priesthood withheld 
  what little science knowledge remained in order to retain 
  autocratic control over the plebeian class. Since their original 
  facilities had not been expanded the population density was 
  on the verge of collapsing the environmental systems, forcing 
  the degenerates to instigate a number of draconian eugenic 
  policies.
  Emergency support from Mire aided the struggling population, 
  which refused to abandon their home. With supervision from 
  
  148
  psychoanalysts, the colony was brought back from their cultural 
  precipice, new domes erected against the lung scarring dust 
  and more water ice asteroids brought to the world for mining.
  The social guidance combined with additional resources merely 
  allowed the population to explode, placing a greater and greater 
  strain on the welfare support keeping them alive. Eventually, 
  under reforms brought by the Darrian Confederation, money 
  ceased being spent on increasing residential space and was 
  invested into an asteroid mining infrastructure instead. Forced 
  to become self sufficient, the residents of Terant 340 finally 
  began to integrate with mainline Darrian society.
  Things took a brief turn for the worst during the First Frontier 
  War when the Sword Worlds annexed Cunnonic and briefly held 
  Terant 340 and Trifuge. The occupation was brief but a time of 
  terror for the residents, threatened with the destruction of their 
  pressurised settlements. Lacking much of an industrial base 
  to arm themselves, the people of Terant had little to fight with, 
  save for the rocks they had then spent centuries shuttling and 
  mining for resources.
  Using mass accelerators normally used to throw refined ores 
  across the belt, the inhabitants of Terant launched a covert war, 
  sending large boulders of blackened nickel-iron coasting on 
  ballistic courses in the paths of patrolling Sword World ships. 
  The first vessels lost were considered random accidents but 
  as a pattern emerged the Sword World fleet extracted savage 
  reprisals, opening fire on civilian domes.
  Faced with potential extinction, the miners used everything they 
  had as weapons, even ramming the warships with bulk cargo 
  haulers in suicide attacks. Although the cost in lives sapped 
  an entire generation, their loss was not in vain. Damage to the 
  annexing fleet allowed the Darrian Navy to perform a counter-
  strike, forcing the Sword Worlds back to Cunnonic.
  After this dreadful experience, Terant built multiple underground 
  bunkers to help protect the general populace in case of 
  direct attack. They also armed their system with aid from the 
  Confederation.
  Points of Interest
  Ruled by a charismatic dictator, Terant still clings to elements of 
  the weird social structure it formed during its isolation. Despite 
  being elected to the office, the dictator holds all authority over 
  the world. Fortunately most dictators are chosen for their 
  wisdom and foresight, and are generally benevolent.
  Terant 340 is the source of the Confederation’s best Zero-G 
  miners and engineers. Their expertise is used for space 
  construction across the subsector, especially in the creation of 
  covert bases for the military. Adapted to long voyages cooped 
  up in the tiny cabins of asteroid mining ships, Residents of 
  Terant 340 are especially sought after for the crews of couriers 
  or scout craft.
  The world itself is of interest, since it possesses a substantial 
  atmosphere with no obvious means of keeping it. Both the 
  origin of the gases and their retention without significant gravity 
  appear impossible according to standard physics. No scientists 
  can yet explain the situation, nor the other oddities concerning 
  the movement of the stellar bodies in system.
  A constant stream of debris rains down on Terant, objects 
  perturbed from the asteroid belt. This has led to some 
  interesting entertainments. Watching the night sky is a beautiful 
  experience, with shooting stars occurring every 10 seconds on 
  average. A popular gambling game is to predict the number of 
  meteorite strikes on a residential dome in a set period of time, 
  the thinner atmosphere allowing a greater number of objects to 
  reach the ground before burning up. Other ‘gambling games’ 
  involve driving across the desert terrain in open-topped wheeled 
  vehicles during particularly spectacular meteor storms.
  Being struck by a meteorite is uncommon but it does happen, 
  more often to miners in the belt than walkers on the surface. 
  This has led to a degree of fatalism amongst those living on 
  Terant, ‘Your life is yours until the falling lady stings’.
  Mysterious planet
  The truth behind Terant 340’s ability to retain an 
  atmosphere lies with a series of machines lodged under 
  the planetary crust. Originally installed by the Ancients 
  330,000 years before, these wondrous devices appear 
  to defy the laws of conventional physics. Drawing gases 
  to the planet as if under the influence of gravity.
  The pre-Maghiz Darrian scientists discovered this amazing 
  secret but knowledge of it was lost during their struggle 
  for survival. Elements of their discovery were preserved 
  in their unique culture; several stories refer to the source 
  of life lying deep under the earth. One tale in particular 
  concerns a mighty scholar who explored the labyrinths 
  under the world, where she found a god. The deity held 
  all secrets within his hands, so the scholar sat and argued 
  with it, eventually gaining the boon of breathing.
  If the Darrians were able to rediscover the Ancient’s 
  machinery, they would have the chance to learn how to 
  apply gravity to affect specific elements. The potential 
  of such a scientific breakthrough could be incalculable.
  
  149
  Torment (X233000-0)
  Diameter: 2,420km, Gravity: 0.15g, Atmosphere: Very 
  thin oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 32%, Climate: Cold, 
  Population: 0, Government: None, Manufacturing Tech Level: 0
  Ecology
  Torment is a miserably cold and barren world, utterly desolate 
  save for a single currently abandoned penal settlement. 
  The  winds whine incessantly across the surface, blowing 
  flurries of fine snow. The environment consists of exposed 
  rock, frozen sand and ice sheets. No animals or plants live 
  on the world.
  History
  Named for its harsh climate and lack of ecology, Torment was 
  never colonised by Daryen or the Mire interstellar community. 
  The world offered no ready resources and was left fallow until 
  813 when the combined Ministries of the Darrian Confederation 
  decided to use the world as a penal colony, for the most 
  incorrigible of criminals, those whom Darrian psychologists 
  had judged impossible to cure of violent tendencies. Being 
  considered too dangerous to simply exile they were dropped 
  on-planet where they could do no further harm except to each 
  other.
  The inmates of Torment were left to govern themselves with 
  no supervision, the prison governed by a hierarchy of criminals 
  who demanded obedience from their fellow convicts; those who 
  refused suffering extreme brutality or death. Initially extremes 
  of violence proliferated but the brutality established equilibrium, 
  since food and supplies were only granted for a like exchange 
  of manufactured materials. Thus the killing of members of the 
  workforce was self defeating. During this period the UWP of 
  Torment was X233268-4.
  This penal colony continued until the Fourth Frontier War, when 
  the Entropic Group was annexed by the Sword Worlds for the 
  second time. A lightning strike into the Torment system destroyed 
  one of the cruisers on picket duty and critically damaged the 
  second. Faced with an untenable strategic position, the Darrian 
  Confederation withdrew from Torment, abandoning the penal 
  colony.
  When Darrian scouts next entered the system, no trace of 
  the prisoners remained. However, the bodies of recognisable 
  inmates were later discovered on a number of improvised 
  commerce raiders destroyed during acts of piracy within 
  Darrian space. Whether Sword World troops had liberated 
  the prisoners or the inmates had contrived their own escape 
  remained unknown.
  At the conclusion of the Fourth Frontier War, Torment ostensibly 
  stayed as Darrian territory, mainly due to the lack of anything 
  worthwhile in the system for the Sword Worlds to bother 
  claiming. Occupying the system however remained a bone of 
  contention. The Confederation Council wanted to reopen the 
  penal colony but the Ministry of Defence vetoed the decision, 
  explaining that any ships left on guard duty would be exposed to 
  the predilections of the Sword World’s Joyeuse Fleet, currently 
  occupying the three neighbouring systems of the Entropic 
  Group. 
  Thus Torment currently remains unoccupied, a zone of sporadic 
  engagement for scouts of the Darrian and Sword World navies. 
  A consequence of losing their main incarceration facilities has 
  led to a gradual increase of capital punishments in the Darrian 
  legal system, no other world desiring a new penal colony built 
  in their own back yard.
  Points of Interest
  Very little of interest remains in the Torment system, save for a 
  number of floating wrecks drifting in its outskirts. Lacking even a 
  gas giant for refuelling, salvaging operations are problematical 
  without significant foresight and planning. Remaining in the 
  system for an extended period inevitably draws attention from 
  covert military ships of one side or the other.
  Anyone with a morbid curiosity can freely land on the world 
  and investigate the penal colony. Some of the graffiti and the 
  cemetery are rather shocking, including the graves of Darrian 
  naval officers who survived the loss of their cruiser, abandoning 
  ship in small craft. Their fate at the hands of the inmates is 
  obvious, but as yet none of the bodies has been dug up for fear 
  at what might be discovered.
  The penal facilities remain functional, suggesting that the 
  complex could be re-inhabited with minimal effort.
  Trifuge (C446556-9)
  Diameter: 6,130km, Gravity: 0.35g, Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-
  nitrogen, tainted by plant spores, Hydrographics: 60%, Climate: 
  Hot, Population: 220,000, Government: Corporate Executives, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 9
  Ecology
  A member of the Darrian Group, Trifuge has the longest year of 
  all the Darrian planets. Its giant primary keeps it warm even at 
  122 au from the star. The world is lush and verdant, covered in 
  swamps, forests and jungles; one of the few Darrian worlds with 
  torrential rainfalls. 
  Breathing the raw atmosphere without filters is dangerous due 
  to the concentration of plant and fungal spores carried in the air. 
  Animal life not native to the world tends to die within 48 hours, 
  their lungs congested with plant growths. If left, the bodies 
  sprout full grown versions of the plant species, which emerge 
  from the oral or respiratory cavities.
  
  150
  Native fauna is predominantly reptilian, thousands of different 
  creatures from tiny finger sized lizards, up to frighteningly large 
  but relatively harmless, herbivores the size of a grav tank. 
  Despite the diverse number of species, Trifuge is a world whose 
  plant life seems to tolerate creatures rather than simply provide 
  food for them. Carnivorous plants are common, capable of 
  engulfing man-sized beasts.
  History
  Another planet overlooked during the first Daryen colonisations, 
  primarily due to its dangerous atmosphere and distance from 
  the homeworld, Trifuge has been the focus of a number of 
  discoveries. Originally surveyed by Darrian scientists scanning 
  the plant life for helpful or medicinal chemicals, the richness of 
  its biosphere drew much attention.
  A research base was constructed to facilitate botanical analysis 
  but the entire compliment of staff gradually died off, the last 
  survivors making records 77 years after the Maghiz. Original 
  reports suggested the team were killed by an unknown plague, 
  yet the fact that no biological remains were ever recovered 
  made the claim somewhat tentative, allowing controversial 
  rumours to spread suggesting they had been slain by either 
  carnivorous, ambulatory plants or suborned by a zombifying 
  brain spore. Neither theory was ever proved.
  After its rediscovery in –269, Trifuge was left alone till 581 when 
  Sword World aggression forced the Confederation to lay claim 
  to the world. Colonisation was not regarded as optimal, so the 
  planet was leased to the pharmaceutical branch of the Imperium 
  registered SuSAG Corporation, who saw potential opportunities 
  in exploiting the voracious flora. A rapid development program 
  was set in place, which built significant infrastructure for their 
  employees. The world was run by industrial executives and 
  their scientific advisers, producing new drugs and medicines 
  from the native species.
  Soon after, Trifuge was briefly annexed during the First Frontier 
  War but the Sword World blockade was forced to retreat after 
  suffering a defeat at Terant 340. Troops sent down to the 
  planetary surface, suffered high losses due to the unfamiliarity 
  of the terrain type and undisciplined filter mask use.
  After the war a relatively advanced native species was 
  discovered on Trifuge, which funded a flood of new science 
  projects manned by Ministry of Information research staff. 
  Since then the scientific population has expanded to become a 
  full colony but remains concentrated within a single settlement 
  separated from the original medical corporation’s extensive 
  research facilities.
  Points of Interest
  The Dphone are a near sapient race of serpentine reptilians with 
  brightly iridescent scales. Very stealthy, they move by wriggling 
  on their bellies, occasionally walking upright on their hind limbs 
  when making peaceful contact. The species have secretly been 
  observing the Darrian settlers since their arrival. They use 
  simple tools and use other materials to camouflage themselves. 
  Scientific studies have thus far used remote drones and satellite 
  imagery to gather data since the Dphone slip away whenever a 
  Darrian comes too close.
  Unknown to the scientific researchers, a zombifying plant spore 
  does exist in the native ecosystem. Lying in small patches in the 
  depths of the swamps, spore pods rarely have a chance to infect 
  the native species, its tell-tale odour of burnt cinnamon keeping 
  most of the indigenous species at bay. A Darrian however, could 
  easily become infected if the happen upon one of the few spots 
  where the spore thrives. Initial infection is transmitted via an 
  explosive burst, capable of penetrating thin skin if immediately 
  adjacent to the rupturing pod. Secondary infection of others is 
  done by coughing or sneezing in a closed environment and the 
  spore is highly contagious. 
  Incubation takes several weeks whilst the spore subverts the 
  immune system, floating through the blood stream until it can 
  lodge in the brain. There it takes root and grows through the 
  spongy tissue, gradually eroding away the personality of the 
  victim. Eventually the host dies, usually by performing a mindless 
  act of stupidity or simply starving to death; the resulting corpse 
  forming a decaying source of nutrients for the spore to bloom to 
  full maturity and grow new dispersal pods.
  Unknown to the Ministry of Information, the SuSAG 
  Megacorporation 
  is 
  actually 
  performing 
  eugenics 
  experimentation on the near sapient natives, attempting to 
  mould them for a variety of different functions. If the Darrians 
  were to find out about this, a great deal of strain would be 
  placed on Imperial relations. However, the natives themselves, 
  driven by primal instincts, have had enough of being culled by 
  the scale-less gods and are gathering in their thousands to 
  extract bloody revenge.
  Zamine (C897977-A)
  Diameter: 11,030km, Gravity: 1g, Atmosphere: Dense oxygen-
  nitrogen, tainted by high oxygen level, Hydrographics: 70%, 
  Climate: Hot, Population: 2,200,000,000, Government: Multiple 
  Societies, Manufacturing Tech Level: 10
  Ecology
  A highly populated garden world mostly covered by oceans, the 
  land masses are split into numerous archipelagos, separated 
  by narrow straits. Vegetation is verdant across all of the 
  landmasses and animal life is widespread but curtailed by the 
  population density.
  Unfortunately for most Darrians it suffers from a high gravity and 
  very dense atmosphere, both of which can be very dangerous.
  
  151
  History
  Zamine was not colonised by Daryen due to its crippling gravity 
  and thus suffered no impositions from the collapse of civilisation 
  after the Maghiz. It was first settled by volunteer colonists 
  from the Winston colony after the quarantine was lifted from 
  that world. Adapted to survive the higher gravity, the pioneers 
  could more easily cope with the high pressure atmosphere 
  experiencing little difference in discomfort between Zamine and 
  Winston, as both required breathing apparatus. Indeed it was 
  the heat that was harder to cope with.
  Developing an infrastructure dedicated to manufacturing, 
  the planet grew into the main industrialised planet in the 
  Confederation. Zamine remained a peaceful world, although 
  it hosted a large fleet presence during the First and Second 
  Frontier Wars. However, its dispersed geography and the 
  extreme physiological conditions started to impose a subtle 
  effect on the populace, encouraging insular mindsets. This was 
  not helped by the introduction of tens of thousands of Aslan 
  warriors fresh from defending the Confederation.
  Over time the planetary government split into multiple polities, 
  each one reflecting a specific cultural or social philosophy. 
  Disputes were typically settled in summit meetings and world 
  courts rather than open warfare. Whilst rather disturbed by this 
  development, the Confederation Council did little to dissuade 
  this factionalism, such matters being outside of its remit or 
  ethical consideration.
  However, in the last 20 years, Zamine has seen some very un-
  Darrian-like violence. There have been increasing small wars, 
  hostage takings and violent demonstrations, all based around 
  religious governance; a subject normally avoided by the more 
  secular Darrians. Currently there is a civil war in Baruk and 
  several factions in Mabek Ladh are hostile to the Confederation, 
  which has sent in Guard units to maintain the peace. Starships 
  are now advised to approach landing sites in these nations with 
  caution.
  Points of Interest
  Recent unrest is due to the interference of the Zhodani on 
  Zamine. As a prelude to possible military action, the world is 
  being deliberately destabilised by psionic agents who have 
  created a clever plan to cause philosophical dissention. The 
  Zhodani have introduced the concept of theocracy, using their 
  abilities to fake miracles or cloud the judgements of observers.
  The problems started with the arrival of a foreign prophetess, 
  the so called ‘Baroness Anha’. Preaching faith over empirical 
  observation, the Imperial citizen began to perform a number of 
  miracles, with no directly observable explanation. Whilst alien 
  to Darrians, the idea of the supernatural began to spread with 
  each perplexing phenomenon. For the most part the nay-sayers 
  claimed it was a hoax, whereas those who had been touched 
  by each divine experience defended themselves vehemently, 
  going so far as to take truth tests and giving blood samples to 
  prove the lack of narcotics.
  Events climaxed when leading philosophers of the Yikan 
  Yikan school, in debate with the prophetess, were driven to an 
  uncharacteristic rage by her evasive mysticism and launched 
  an inexplicable attack with concealed weapons. Seriously 
  injured, Baroness Anha was forced to defend herself, proving 
  to be a formidable swordswoman. After slaying her attackers, 
  the fatally injured prophetess apotheosised before her followers 
  disappearing in a flash of blinding light. The political fallout 
  of the assassination attempt created an immediate antipathy 
  between the believers and the cynics.
  To make matters worse the miracles have not ceased. Several 
  new cults have appeared in a short period of time, each 
  claiming their own particular deity or divine spirit was the true 
  interpretation of what had occurred. Even the Aslan have 
  started to witness mystical phenomenon. 
  With the seemingly imperturbable Darrian code of politeness 
  on the verge of disintegration, Zamine is turning into a powder 
  keg. If at any point the home squadron become involved, the 
  situation will explode into civil war, granting an excuse for the 
  Consulate or the Sword Worlds to legitimately offer their support 
  to suppress the strife.
  the entropiC Worlds
  The Entropic Worlds are the four star systems of Entrope, 
  Winston, Anselhome and Torment which straddle the Querion-
  Darrian subsectors. These systems were first explored by the 
  Darrians prior to the Maghiz, who established several research 
  stations and settlements prior to a fully fledged colonial effort 
  that never came. After the reestablishment of the Darrian 
  Confederation, the isolated populations of these worlds wished 
  to continue cultivating their planets.
  Unfortunately for the populace of the Entropic Group, their 
  systems were considered as strategically valuable by the Sword 
  Worlds, who eventually mounted a military invasion to claim 
  them. Over the last 500 years the region has been fought over 
  by the Darrians, who rightly feel the native Darrian population 
  should be returned to the Confederation, and the Sword Worlds 
  who seek to expand their territory and weaken both the Darrian 
  Confederation and the Imperium.
  Ownership of the Entropic Group has swung back and forth 
  several times:
   
  593 During the First Frontier War, the neutral Darrian 
  Confederation is attacked by the Sword Worlds and the worlds 
  of the Entropic Group are annexed.
  
  0809
  0808
  e
  d
  e
  B
  e
  π
  0406
  0407
  0408
  0409
  0410
  0507
  0508
  0509
  0510
  0606
  0607
  0608
  0609
  0610
  0707
  0708
  0709
  0710
  0806
  0807
  0810
  Retinae
  Faisal
  Dekalb
  Winston
  e
  Anselhome
  C
  Entrope
  Thanber
  0402
  0401
  0404
  0403
  0405
  0502
  0501
  0504
  0503
  0505
  0506
  0602
  0601
  0604
  0603
  0605
  0702
  0701
  0704
  0703
  0705
  0706
  0802
  0801
  0804
  0803
  0805
  e
  Zamine
  C
  Engrange
  d
  x
  494–908
  a
  Jacent
  B
  Nosea
  
  C
  Trifuge
  e
  Cunnonic
  d
  Terant 340
  x
  Torment
  Rorre
  0107
  0108
  0109
  0110
  0206
  0207
  0208
  0209
  0210
  0307
  0308
  0309
  0310
  B
  C
  x
  a
  C
  Garda–Vilis
  
  Choleosti
  Zeta 2
  Vilis
  Margesi
  0102
  0101
  0104
  0103
  0105
  0106
  0202
  0201
  0204
  0203
  0205
  0302
  0301
  0304
  0303
  0305
  0306
  B
  Hrunting
  
  B
  Tizon
  
  B
  Colada
  
  B
  Joyeuse
  
  B
  Mjolnir
  
  B
  Orcrist
  
  
  153
  615-620 In the Second Frontier War, the Darrians struggle 
  to retake the Entropic Worlds but fail to dislodge the Zhodani 
  reinforced Sword World fleets.
  788 Frustrated by lack of support from the Imperium, the 
  Darrians retake the Entropic Group in a surprise attack, causing 
  the Sword World coalition to collapse.
  1084 Threatened by the massive fleet base being built at 
  Entrope, the Zhodani fund a Sword World expedition, which 
  captures the cluster for a second time.
  The Sword Worlds do not currently hold Torment since it lacks 
  any significant resources or a gas giant for refuelling, and is not 
  considered worthwhile to divert ships to hold it.
  Anselhome (C110568-8)
  Diameter: 980km, Gravity: 0.05g, Atmosphere: Trace carbon 
  dioxide-sulphur dioxide, Hydrographics: None, Climate: Cold, 
  Population: 602,000, Government: Captive government, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: 8
  Ecology
  Anselhome is little more than a small rocky moon in an elliptical 
  orbit around the system’s gas giant. Its surface, similar to 
  Spume, is a multihued patchwork of volcanic outfall caused by 
  the heat generated by gravitational tidal forces. Earthquakes 
  and eruptions occur regularly, requiring elaborate engineering 
  for the world’s rugged surface and subsurface settlements. 
  A whiff of an atmosphere is generated from volcanic gases, too 
  thin and poisonous to be breathable. However, it supports an 
  unusual ecosystem of rock eating bacteria and lichens, which 
  survive in the rifts that regularly open in the surface. No higher 
  order of life exists, blasted by the radiation that bathes the moon 
  each time it swings past the gas giant.
  History
  Anselhome was first studied by Darrian scientific teams who 
  were amazed to find micro-ecologies clustered around the 
  planetoid’s numerous volcanoes. Supported by the heat and 
  trace gases expelled by the vents, bacteria and lichens thrived 
  in the near vacuum, often forming unusual coral-like structures, 
  which soon vanished under the next ash fall.
  The moon’s unusually high composition of heavy metals, 
  easily accessible due to the volcanism, made Anselhome an 
  economical location for the large scale smelting of rare metals. 
  Accordingly, a modest mining base was set up with an ancillary 
  Jump-4 cargo freighter to transport the refined materials to 
  Daryen. 
  The destruction of their supply vessel in the Maghiz left the 
  miners in a precarious survival situation. Fortunately they 
  were also providing metals for the construction of the Entrope 
  scientific research base who soon established contact with 
  news of the catastrophe. With no immediate room available on 
  either Entrope or Winston to evacuate the mining personnel, the 
  management decided to exchange ore production for food and 
  other supplies, until facilities could be arranged. A few miners 
  eventually emigrated but most lacked the skills to become 
  farmers and decided they were of more use extracting metals.
  Mining operations on Anselhome continued exporting fissiles 
  and light alloy construction materials until –872, with the loss 
  of Entrope’s remaining jump capable transport ship. The miners 
  initially survived the isolation, having constructed their own 
  hydroponics facilities that they supplemented by harvesting the 
  native lichen.
  Unfortunately for them, the lichen, although nutritious, contained 
  a trace number of heavy elements that gradually built up in the 
  tissues of the consumers. By the time the first symptoms of 
  mental degeneration appeared it was already too late. All the 
  miners eventually succumbed to insanity, at first hallucinations 
  and then ultimately raving paranoia. The last miners finally 
  killed each other off in –861. 
  Unsupervised the base was gradually buried under metres of 
  volcanic spume and completely forgotten until –271, when a 
  Mire re-contact expedition travelling from Entrope, attempted 
  to locate the miners. Although they had the coordinates of 
  the mining base it took several days before it was discovered 
  underneath 30 metres of solidified ash and lava. What they 
  discovered inside the still functional base was so horrifying 
  that several crew members had to be psychologically retired 
  and all records of the rescue mission were sealed under 
  governmental edict.
  With a renewal of interstellar transport Entrope, in desperate 
  need of large quantities of refined rare metals, returned to 
  the moon, establishing a series of self supporting smelter 
  entropiC Worlds, querion suBseCtor in 1105
  Hex
  Name
  UWP
  Polity
  Base
  Remarks
  Zone
  GG
  0610
  Winston
  E887563-6
  Sw
  Ag Ga Ni
  G
  0710
  Entrope
  E336A6A-C
  Sw
  Hi Ht
  0810
  Anselhome
  C110568-8
  Sw
  Ni
  G
  
  154
  colonies. Productivity grew in proportion to the population of 
  Entrope, despite many problems designing lower tech mining 
  bases capable of surviving earthquakes, intense radiation and 
  gravitational tides. 
  Although a tour on Anselhome was considered hardship duty, 
  many folk liked the frontier town feel to the place, especially 
  when trade began with the nearby world of Hrunting in the 
  Sword World Subsector. Trade remained friendly and congenial, 
  building up a huge refining industry over the course of centuries. 
  Most of Anselhome’s ore was sold to the unstable Sword Worlds, 
  being a closer and more voracious market. However, with the 
  construction of a major military base on Hrunting and arrival 
  of warships escorting their bulk transports, relations eventually 
  began to sour.
  Four years after the start of the First Frontier War, belligerent 
  threats against the mining colony demanding the sale of ore 
  at sub-economic prices, broke down into direct military action. 
  Anselhome was annexed by Sword Worlder commandos, to 
  seize its valuable production. The invasion continued on to 
  Entrope in order to prevent Darrian fleet elements stationed 
  there from retaliating. In one swoop, the entire Entropic Group 
  capitulated. 
  Under the occupation, the Sword Worlds left the miners of 
  Anselhome alone in exchange for regular deliveries of refined 
  metals. Exceeding monthly quotas allowed the populace to import 
  ‘luxuries’ such as Sword World propaganda entertainments, 
  clothing and additional cometary water supplies. During this time 
  of slavery, repeated attempts to revolt led to terrible reprisals, 
  breeding resentment and fear. The miners themselves began 
  to fracture into desperate collaborators and frustrated resistors, 
  causing infighting between factions that grew worse over the 
  succeeding two generations.
  After nearly 200 years of gradual infrastructure breakdown 
  and worsening brutality, the Darrian Confederation eventually 
  succeeded in retaking Anselhome, liberating its indentured 
  miners. Initial joy at liberation was soon followed by a brief but 
  violent civil war between the various political factions, which 
  resulted in the loss of many Darrian lives, almost all of the 
  collaborators being killed in retribution; a fact which has not 
  been recorded in Anselhome’s own historical records.
  The Confederation poured relief aid into the mining colony, 
  which helped to assuage bad feelings of the belated deliverance, 
  although the 3rd Imperium continued to be vilified for its role in 
  preventing a liberation attempt from occurring earlier. From that 
  time on, Imperials were regarded as only slightly better than 
  Sword Worlders.
  With massive renovation Anselhome began a period of re-
  growth. Although its metal markets had effectively crashed with 
  the lack of Sword World trade, the Confederation absorbed as 
  much of the materials as it could, stockpiling supplies on key 
  worlds and rebuilding Entrope, which to Anselhome’s shame, 
  had suffered far worse than they.
  Several centuries passed and Anselhome saw a brief flurry 
  of activity during the Third Frontier War, when production was 
  spurred and the moon was heavily reinforced by Confederation 
  Guard units. The mining colonies were not threatened however, 
  the garrisons and extra ships finally being withdrawn to Entrope 
  decades later in advance of a shocking political exposé. 
  Although trade had reopened between the Darrian and Sword 
  World Confederations, Anselhome law absolutely forbad 
  commercial relations with their historical oppressors. Behind the 
  planetary government’s back, officials in the Darrian Ministry 
  of Trade had been selling off surplus metal production to their 
  aggressive neighbours, ostensibly to undermine the Sword 
  World’s own economic stability. The news shocked the world, 
  which threatened to secede from the Confederation. Relations 
  teetered for several decades but faced with the possibility of 
  being defenceless in the face of the Sword Worlds, Anselhome 
  was forced to reconsider its position.
  In 1077 a new wave of investment flooded into the world to 
  upgrade equipment, prior to the construction of a huge naval 
  base on Entrope. Anselhome experienced an economic boom 
  allowing citizens to construct extensive underground facilities 
  to make life more pleasurable. Domed surface habitats began 
  to be replaced by earthquake-proof underground cities and an 
  extensive subterranean transport system was built. 
  The bust came in 1084 when the Zhodani began the Fourth 
  Frontier War. Engaged in patrols and commerce raiding on 
  the Coreward edge of their Subsector, the Darrians failed to 
  recognise the danger posed by the Sword Worlds until it was too 
  late. The Entropic Group was annexed for a second time and 
  major naval facilities on Entrope destroyed. With the Darrian 
  fleet pushed back to Zamine and Terant 340, Anselhome was 
  left defenceless, forced to capitulate again but only after fierce 
  fighting that caused the loss of nearly 30% of their population. 
  With their habitats full of Sword Worlder troops and much of 
  their manufacturing capability removed or destroyed, the people 
  of Anselhome are currently acting with stoic passive resistance. 
  Productivity in the mines is at an all time low, due to mysterious 
  cave-ins, mechanical break downs and a string of unpleasant 
  sicknesses. All of which are driving the Colonel in command of 
  the occupation crazy. 
  
  155
  However, the last retribution against randomly collected family 
  members, resulted in the remaining hostages performing 
  a suicidal act of sabotage, venting an entire manufacturing 
  block to vacuum and killing as many Sword World troops as 
  the abused adults who had decided enough was enough. 
  Anselhome remains on the verge of an all out rebellion, awaiting 
  the Sword Worlder’s next step.
  Points of Interest
  Although an integral part of Anselworld folklore, the original 
  mining base, which is the source of many mining horror stories, 
  remains hidden somewhere beneath the surface of the moon. 
  Precise data of its location has been lost, the continual burial 
  of the surface under highly metallic outfall and lava flows, 
  combined with naturally occurring underground cists, has 
  prevented sensor systems from locating the TL16 base. Many 
  miners dream of rediscovering the complex, gaining access to 
  astounding pre-Maghiz technology. A few old-timers claim to 
  know its location, spinning fables in return for drinks.
  The lichen, ignored since the re-colonisation, is a botanical 
  wonder. Careful analysis by a highly qualified biochemist would 
  uncover that the organism has been tailored to collect certain 
  heavy metals, concentrating them in the coral-like structures 
  they leave behind after death. Although the low growth rate 
  makes harvesting uneconomical, the lichen itself would be 
  invaluable in terraforming or industrial waste cleanup projects.
  Entrope (E336A6A-C)
  Diameter: 4,796km, Gravity: 0.25g, Atmosphere: Very thin 
  oxygen-nitrogen, Hydrographics: 61%, Climate: Frozen, 
  Population: 11,263,000,000, Government: Captive government, 
  Manufacturing Tech Level: C
  Ecology
  A small frozen world with a very thin atmosphere, Entrope lacks 
  much in the way of an ecosystem. The highest forms of native 
  life are spindly trees, hardy grasses or rootless arctic cactuses, 
  blown across the world using the thin winds to search for rare 
  patches of exposed rock and iron hard soil. What little liquid 
  water exists lies under the kilometres thick ice sheets, which 
  cover much of the surface, heated by the feeble flickers of the 
  planetary core.
  Save for some species, historically introduced by Sword 
  Worlders for sport, the planet is near lifeless.
  History
  Entrope was initially studied for the possibility of mining the 
  extensive ice fields for their unusually rich levels of isotropic 
  hydrogen. Geologically stable and with little atmosphere to 
  prevent solar radiation from bombarding the pristine water ice, 
  huge deposits of deuterium and tritium lay trapped in the upper 
  layers, continually refreshed.
  Eventually a major scientific and logistics base was built on the 
  planet, allowing it to serve as a nexus for further exploration 
  of the other three systems in its group. High levels of easily 
  accessible fusion fuels led to a proposal to construct a new 
  design of antimatter generator on the surface. This resulted in 
  a significant influx of technicians, scientists and manufacturing 
  equipment, just prior to the Maghiz. 
  Cut off from technological supply, the science base revised its 
  plans in order to survive, managing to maintain communication 
  and trade with its sister systems of Anselhome and Winston. 
  The base built up agricultural facilities and imported a stockpile 
  of fissile ores that might be needed in the future. However, 
  repeated jumps without qualified maintenance or spare parts 
  eventually resulted in the breakdown and loss of the colony’s 
  ships, one-by-one. 
  With its large core of technical personnel, Entrope weathered 
  the isolation better than most, using jury rigged fission plants 
  to keep their electronic devices ticking over, the gamma-ray 
  pulse from Daryen’s sun dissipating before it reached the world. 
  When contacted by Mire in –272, the populace had swelled from 
  an original 10,000 to nearly a quarter of a million, supported 
  primarily by hydroponics and artificially created fish farms; their 
  technological base having recovered fusion power and almost 
  cracking jump drive technology.
  Finding the nearby world of Winston abandoned, the original 
  colonists having vanished, a contingent of Entrope citizens re-
  established the colony, producing a welcome range of plentiful 
  fruits and vegetables that were shipped back to the mother 
  world. The colonisation was rudely stopped in –204 with the 
  discovery of Draygons Disease. The horror and subsequent 
  temporary quarantine of Winston ceased all further emigration.
  Despite the inhospitable atmosphere and climate the population 
  continued to thrive. In 593 however, they were invaded by the 
  Sword Worlds, who saw the planet as the perfect opportunity 
  to create a dumping ground for political dissidents. Although 
  the Darrian population tried to offer aid and shelter where they 
  could, the sheer quantity of penal convicts soon swamped their 
  resources. 
  Over the course of two centuries tens of thousands of deported 
  Sword Worlders were sentenced to the gulags of Entrope, each 
  shipload of cold sleep prisoners dropped with barely adequate 
  thermal suits, compressor masks and the basic materials 
  to build simple pressurised settlements. If they managed to 
  survive, the isolated gulag was forced to begin mining hydrogen 
  
  156
  isotopes or manufacturing Sword World goods in exchange for 
  food. Countless died but more came to replace them.
  To discourage communication between the camps, officers of 
  the occupation troops brought in omnivorous arctic predators 
  which, lacking natural prey, turned to excavating graves and 
  then hunting humans for food.
  When Entrope was finally liberated in 788, the dreadful 
  discovery of hundreds of gulags and mass graves was 
  publically censured, even by the Zhodani, causing the collapse 
  of the Sword World Coalition. Unable to ship the prisoners 
  back to their infighting home worlds, the Darrains offered them 
  citizenship. Most accepted, beginning a huge rebuilding project 
  that sapped the economic strength of the Darrian Confederation 
  for the next century. Using many of the established gulags as the 
  basis for new urban growth, existing equipment was upgraded, 
  resources made available and the complete food productivity 
  of Winston shipped in to prevent further malnutrition. With this 
  support, population growth exploded. Although the Darrians 
  were significantly in the minority, the inhabitants integrated into 
  Darrian culture with few hitches.
  Since Entrope had been changed to a manufacturing economy, 
  the Confederation continued renovation efforts in that direction, 
  producing high tech products. Prior to the Fourth Frontier War, 
  the planet’s strategic location, combined with its technological 
  fabrication capability, prompted the Darrian Ministry of Defence 
  to establish a major military base there. Work began on 
  expanding the Starport and building a huge orbital shipyard. 
  Unfortunately for Entrope, the military infrastructure was seen 
  as a significant threat by both the increasingly mistrustful Sword 
  Worlds and the Zhodani, who helped arm a Sword World strike 
  fleet to destroy the facilities. Thus in 1084 after a devastating 
  surprise attack and several follow-up surface battles, the world 
  fell to Sword World control for the second time. The Darrian 
  fleet losses crippled the Confederation Navy, preventing any 
  immediate counterattack and the war ended before Entrope 
  could be liberated.
  Today most of the inhabitants of Entrope are resigned to living 
  under Sword World authority. Wise to previous mistakes, the 
  invaders have not returned to oppressive tactics. Instead they 
  are keeping a restrained approach, realising that they cannot 
  completely subjugate a population numbering in the billions. An 
  unspoken agreement between the puppet government and the 
  occupation forces, agrees that no Sword Worlder will be killed 
  in exchange for not threatening the atmospheric integrity of the 
  remaining domed settlements. In practice, this means that the 
  insurgent militia forces have limited their operations to stealing 
  military supplies and regularly destroying the starport.
  Points of Interest
  The resistance militia is currently under the command of Major 
  Kerin Yoldat, an expert in guerrilla warfare. She keeps in regular 
  contact with the Darrian Confederation Guard via a number of 
  deep crust meson communicators, which remained hidden 
  during the invasion. Together the Guard and Major Yoldat have 
  devised a daring plan to retake Entrope, relying on the planet 
  intersecting a stream of natural cometary fragments in four 
  years time. Unknown to the Sword World fleet, these fragments 
  were intercepted several years earlier in the outer system, 
  hollowed out and fitted with a number of cold sleep capsules, 
  trickle powered by low powered radionuclide batteries, each 
  containing a battle dress equipped marine and extra munitions. 
  Using their unquestioned mastery of astronomical science, 
  the Darrian high command has projected the precise time 
  and location of each squad’s arrival. With these extra troops 
  and advanced weapons, the resistance are planning a major 
  uprising to coordinate with a naval assault, to kick the Sword 
  Worlds back out of the Entropic Group.
  In the 19 years of occupation, cut off from the imports of the 
  Confederation, social conditions have suffered. As the result 
  of damage caused during the invasion, the huge population 
  is jammed into several remaining arcologies, with smaller 
  domed agricultural settlements scattered across the rest of the 
  planet. Travel outside of these settlements is difficult due to 
  the requirement of respirators, although being better adapted 
  to lower pressures native Darrians can survive a brief time 
  without them.
  The cities are heavily and harshly policed by Sword World troops 
  to deal with the inevitable pressures caused by having so many 
  people in close proximity. Society is heavily factionalised, with 
  alliances between power groups fluidly changing and violence 
  now more or less the norm. Usually this is ‘kept in the family’, 
  in that real efforts are made not to cause collateral damage 
  when attacking members or facilities of a rival faction. This is 
  a pragmatic measure as much as anything else – collateral 
  casualties result in resentment and no faction needs any more 
  enemies than it already has.
  Officially, the world is supposed to be a senate of leading 
  citizens chosen for their scientific knowledge. These were 
  all taken into ‘protective custody’ by the Sword World troops 
  during the invasion and have not been seen since. They were 
  supplanted by puppet leaders, who may change, literally, from 
  
  157
  one week to the next. Whoever comes out on top in the latest 
  power struggle enjoys considerable support, at least until their 
  promises for better living conditions prove false. The political 
  ground on Entrope shifts alarmingly fast, not the least because 
  some factions are pro-Darrian, some pro-Sword Worlds and the 
  remainder neutral groups that would rather side with whoever 
  will prevent their increasingly fractious rivals reaching power.
  Several revolutions and counter-coups have been put down 
  with assistance from Sword Worlder forces, though not always 
  quickly or easily. At present the ruling faction is presenting 
  the Sword Worlders as allies invited in to help deal with the 
  dangerous rebels that are wrecking Entropic society, a polite 
  fiction that makes the occupation more acceptable to many 
  citizens. There are as many who actively welcome enforced 
  membership of the Sword Worlds Confederation as now 
  oppose it.
  The outer system represents rich, if hazardous, pickings for any 
  salvage crew foolish enough to risk detection by Sword World 
  patrol ships. The wreckage of dozens of vessels which battled 
  for control of the system, including an Azhanti High Lightning 
  fleet intruder, can be hunted down in the dark vacuum where 
  they have drifted. Wrecks of this sort can be a lucrative source 
  of under-the-counter military components as well as more 
  legitimate salvage.
  The problem is that not only is salvage work in deep space a 
  dangerous business but the Sword Worlders in particular take 
  a dim view of unauthorised salvage, seeing it as desecration 
  of the graves of the honourable dead. Despite this, military 
  salvage does go on and the proceeds often turn up in the 
  seedier starports of the Sword Worlds themselves. At present 
  the gains outweigh the risks. 
  One problem with deep-space salvage in the Entrope system 
  is that the system has no gas giants. Obtaining fuel without 
  visiting the starport can be a problem. A Jump-2 ship can carry 
  enough to make two Jump-1s but the neighbouring systems are 
  also under Sword World control. The more usual solution is to 
  melt ice from a suitable asteroid in the system’s Oort cloud, than 
  go looking for a suitable wreck with full tanks. This allows a fast 
  escape in the event of detection.
  Worrying tales circulate of salvage crews closing with a 
  wreck only to find that it is not a derelict warship at all but the 
  shattered remains of a previous salvage vessel. Whether these 
  stories are true, and whether the ships were caught by Sword 
  World patrols, destroyed in disputes with other salvagers or 
  shattered by some other mysterious origin, causes much 
  nervous speculation.
  Torment (X233000-0)
  See Darrian Subsector.
  Winston (E887563-6)
  Diameter: 12,300km, Gravity: 1g, Atmosphere: Dense oxygen-
  nitrogen, Hydrographics: 68%, Climate: Temperate, Population: 
  528,000, Government: Captive government, Manufacturing 
  Tech Level: 6
  Ecology
  A true garden world, Winston is almost perfectly adapted for 
  life. Unfortunately it is almost unbearable for most Darrians due 
  to the fatal atmospheric pressure and gruelling gravitation. The 
  world possesses a thriving bio system with complex jungles and 
  forests dominant on all three continents. Indigenous life forms 
  are primarily insectoids, with larger forms utilising muscular 
  pumped respiratory systems to achieve disconcertingly large 
  sizes. The ecology appears to be two phased, the plants relying 
  on insect species for pollination and in the case of carnivorous 
  varieties, sustenance too; whilst the insects consume the 
  vegetation in return.
  Although no tool using intelligences have been discovered, 
  many insect species appear to have rudimentary sentient 
  hive minds. Most of the native life forms exhibit no interest 
  in the Darrians, the majority of human proteins and enzymes 
  being incompatible to their biology. With little to fear from the 
  ecology, most of the current colonists have a benign attitude 
  to arthropods, seeing most of them as beautiful creatures with 
  vibrant, iridescent colouration, some being domesticated for 
  useful purposes. If not for the spectre of Draygons Disease, 
  and the current Sword World occupation, Winston would be an 
  exotic world suitable for recreational holidays by human and 
  Aslan members of the Darrian Confederation.
  History
  Winston was discovered prior to the settlement of Entrope but 
  the Darrians made no detailed surveys of the world, discouraged 
  by its dangerously high atmospheric pressure and gravity. The 
  chance discovery of the highly evolved insectoid species by a 
  remote drone, stirred academic interest and specially designed 
  prefabricated research bases were sent from Daryen. Biological 
  studies revealed a world capable of growing Darrian crops with 
  no need of environmental protection.
  Thus, 
  although 
  Winston’s 
  surface 
  conditions 
  were 
  uncomfortable, effort was summoned to establish an agricultural 
  colony in order to ‘locally’ produce food supplies for the rest 
  of the Entropic Group. Large robotic farm machines cleared 
  plantations and harvested crops which, lacking native pests, 
  thrived whilst Darrian controllers remained inside their gravity 
  controlled habitats.
  
  158
  After the Maghiz, Winston continued for a few decades to ship 
  produce to Entrope but when their last vessel was lost in jump, 
  the planet was left completely isolated. With no replacement 
  parts for their robotic servitors and no means of manufacturing 
  components, the Darrians were gradually forced to labour outside 
  more frequently. Within a couple of generations, these enforced 
  sojourns partially adapted the younger Darrians to the gravity, 
  although heart failures and arthritic pain killed most in their early 
  middle age and atmospheric pressure remained a problem.
  Having no way to manufacture new breathing masks, the 
  remaining biologists worked furiously to solve the pressure 
  problem, finally settling on the genetic modification of a giant 
  arboreal nematode. This was modified to become a symbiotic 
  pressure filter, worn over the nose and mouth in exchange 
  for small quantities of blood it extracted from facial contact 
  and exhaled moisture. This desperate act might have saved 
  the unintended colony if not for the appearance of Draygons 
  Disease, which wiped out the settlers.
  The planet remained unoccupied until –271 when the world was 
  contacted and found abandoned by a Mire scout ship. Surveys 
  showed the agricultural settlements had grown wild but the 
  transplanted crops still survived. Entrope decided to establish a 
  new colony and recruited volunteers from the liberated gulags. 
  Tens of thousands of ex-Sword World humans tired of eternal 
  cold and abhorring the memories the prison camps evoked, 
  sought escape to the paradise of Winston. 
  The project was exceptionally successful, until the presence 
  of Draygons Disease was unearthed. Once the planetary 
  cordon was lifted, many settlers fled Winston, spreading tales 
  of its nightmare past across the Confederation. The remaining 
  inhabitants trusted the scientists, continuing to clear new 
  plantations and rapidly turned the world into the breadbasket of 
  the Entropic Cluster. 
  Despite a noticeable lack of new colonists the native population 
  grew in pastoral peace, until the First Frontier War sequestered 
  them from the rest of the Confederation. However, the plague 
  planet reputation proved useful in preventing enemy troops 
  from occupying them. An atavistic fear of the ‘bruising death’ 
  made any Sword Worlder reluctant to set foot on the planet, so 
  the annexation was continued from orbit. Having no industry of 
  its own, Winston was left alone in exchange for its food exports.
  Used to isolation, the inhabitants felt little dismay at the 
  situation. The eventual liberation was welcomed, if only for the 
  resumption of better technology and forgotten luxuries. Thus life 
  continued in a slow idyllic manner, the only excitement being 
  the gradual balkanisation of the government between those 
  draygons disease
  This terrible plague was first encountered by the 
  settlers of Winston in –855 which, according to a 
  handful of holographic records discovered later, rapidly 
  destroyed the colony. Named after the Solomani doctor 
  who treated the first patients, he postulated that the 
  disease was a parasitic microorganism that hibernated 
  in the planet’s soil for the extremely (several centuries) 
  long Winston year.
  Returned to activity, the parasite rapidly infected the 
  population. Initial symptoms included shortness of 
  breath and bruise-like mottling of the skin, gradually 
  deepening to a purplish tone. Eventually the victims 
  collapsed into comas that lasted several days, the 
  majority dying. Those who pulled through the transition 
  phase were found to have altered blood chemistry and 
  destructive infestations of parasitic worms in the higher 
  cognitive regions of the brain, irrecoverably corrupting 
  their sapience.
  Attempts at hermetic isolation proved fruitless; every 
  member of the colony, both Darrian and Solomani 
  human, proving to be previously infected. Fatality rates 
  were 93%. The last records recount the remaining 
  medical staff, overwhelmed by the workload, watching 
  mindless survivors wondering off into the crop fields.
  When new colonists arrived from Entrope in –271, 
  they found the ruins of the original settlement 
  overgrown by jungle and assumed the colony died 
  out from technological failure. It was not until –204 
  that the medical centre was rediscovered during an 
  archaeological survey sent by Daryen. In growing 
  dread the entire world was quarantined to prevent 
  the escape of Draygon’s Disease. However, several 
  decades of analysis failed to find any microorganism 
  present in the ecology that could explain the symptoms.
  In the end, the scientific community hypothesised 
  that the parasite may have been a genetic accident, 
  connected to the bioengineered breathing worms, and 
  lifted the quarantine. Immediately a significant number 
  of colonists fled Winston, despite assurances that no 
  trace of the disease remained. Even in current times, 
  subconscious fear of the ancient tragedy still prevents 
  most people from visiting the world, loss of mind being 
  a dreadful horror to Darrians.
  
  159
  who had emerged well off from the Sword World occupation 
  and those who had lost out. Further splits developed concerning 
  the adoption of higher, unsustainable technology, such as 
  Sword Worlder robotic tractors and Darrian bioengineered 
  crops. Growing antipathy forced the Confederation Ministry 
  of Information to intervene, relocating factions to different 
  continents. Eventually government returned to good natured 
  bickering, there being very few wants or social problems on-
  world.
  The Fourth Frontier War proved disastrous for Winston. 
  Indoctrinated with the atrocities imposed on their sister 
  systems during the first and second wars, and angered by 
  the unprovoked bombing of the naval base on Entrope, the 
  agriculturalists decided to fight against the aggressive Sword 
  World invaders. Although it maintained militia training as per all 
  Confederation planetary members, the farmers were no match 
  for the highly trained jump troops. Thinly colonised before the 
  invasion, Winston lost over a third of its population and most of 
  its technology before capitulating. 
  Constant guerrilla attacks on garrison forces have brought 
  increasingly savage retaliations, even in those nations that 
  are still sympathetic to the Sword Worlds. Now most of the 
  balkanised states are loyal to the Darrian Confederation, waiting 
  sullenly to extract revenge.
  Points of Interest
  Rumours from the more isolated settlements, of snouted aliens 
  that suck the souls of those who stray too far into the jungles 
  have long circulated, but always been dismissed as old wives 
  tales to frighten children. Efforts to capture recordings of these 
  mythical bogeymen have always failed, although a surprising 
  amount of sensor equipment left to scan wilderness areas 
  always seems to end up broken.
  One of the few Darrians actually living on Winston is a xeno-
  archaeologist named Zon Dehking. Once considered a gifted 
  scholar by academic circles, he arrived on the world 23 years 
  earlier, following up on strange tales carried by crews across 
  the Confederation. Trapped by the Fourth Frontier War, he 
  remained on the world excavating the pre-Maghiz colony sites 
  and is now considered a harmless eccentric. Recently however, 
  he was discovered, trapped in his power drained exoskeleton, 
  at the edge of a jungle in the southern continent; raving that 
  he had discovered a vast alien city, long lost under the detritus 
  of the tropical forest. He is currently under psychiatric medical 
  supervision.
  Unusually for a planet colonised for as long as Winston, the 
  inhabitants have only settled a tiny fraction of the landmasses. 
  The population is widely distributed in small townships, generally 
  located in more mountainous regions above the most vibrant 
  forest and jungle growth, which tends to reclaim any fields not 
  farmed regularly. Dense vegetation and frequent rivers prevent 
  easy exploration for a society accustomed to gravitic vehicles 
  for transport. Another rather odd fact beginning to be noticed 
  by scientists in recent years is that the native life has not yet 
  adapted to take advantage of Darrian biology. Crops remain 
  pest free and none of the settlers are bothered by insects.
  The Sword World garrisons seem unduly paranoid about 
  Draygon’s Disease. Occupation forces wear NBC suits at all 
  times outside of their hermetically sealed barracks. They have 
  recently taken to patrolling the areas beyond the plantations, 
  seeking signs of militia activity. Unfortunately these patrols have 
  come under increasing attack, despite the local population of 
  the townships being accounted for. 
  Responsibility for the spate of attacks on Sword World troops are 
  hotly denied by the human inhabitants of the planet. No evidence 
  has been presented; indeed any traces of physical evidence 
  have been suppressed by the authorities, leading to intense 
  speculation about what is really going on. Many colonists are 
  beginning to claim the attacks are fraudulent reports designed 
  to impose further atrocities but military broadcasts from the fleet 
  admiral in charge of the orbiting flotilla tends to undermine this 
  speculation, his furious rants seemingly genuine.
  
  160
  darrian CaMpaigns
  This chapter discusses methods and ideas for using the Darrian 
  race in your Traveller games and is intended primarily for the 
  Referee. Whether your games are based within the Darrian 
  Confederation or involve a Darrian character, there are certain 
  factors that should be taken into consideration and many ideas 
  to add extra depth to a campaign.
  darrians in the gaMe
  Darrians are effectively humans that have adapted at the 
  genetic level to lower gravitation and air pressure; and at the 
  cultural level to embrace tolerance and scientific excellence. 
  Beyond that, they share the same mental limitations, emotions 
  and ways of thinking as other humans. Thus the addition of 
  a Darrian into a game should be in no way unbalancing to a 
  campaign.
  A large difficulty facing Darrians is their vulnerability to high 
  gravity and denser atmospheres. Whilst medical equipment 
  can offset some of the difficulties of visiting such worlds, it 
  sometimes requires a technological solution that can be easily 
  damaged or run out of power in the wrong situations. Their 
  frailty too, makes them less capable of withstanding damage in 
  combat situations. 
  Games Masters can emphasise these vulnerabilities to add 
  an interesting edge in games involving Darrians. Players who 
  might find these aspects too restrictive can create a Darrian 
  from one of the few high gravity worlds in the Confederation, 
  with subsequent adjustments to characteristics.
  Conversely Darrians are slightly smarter and have a better 
  education than the average member of Humaniti. This 
  predisposes them to technical and science skills. A Darrian will 
  prefer to think his way out of a dangerous situation, rather than 
  fight. 
  Another factor to consider is that Darrians are very tall, usually 
  in excess of two metres, which could pose problems using 
  vehicles designed for normal humans or entering buildings 
  built for shorter races. The hindrance extends even to everyday 
  equipment such as weapons, with grips not suited to a Darrian’s 
  oversized hand, or Vacc Suits for obvious reasons. Thus a 
  wandering, perhaps exiled, Darrian venturing outside of the 
  Confederation will find many things difficult unless he is capable 
  of modifying equipment for his own frame.
  The distinctive height may also bring unwanted attention. A 
  Darrian outside of Confederation space will sometimes draw 
  a great deal of curiosity, making travelling incognito somewhat 
  futile. More conservative cultures may treat a Darrian as being 
  abnormal, whereas cosmopolitan societies may find the height 
  and facial features exotically attractive.
  roleplaying darrians
  Darrians are similar to ordinary humans. They feel the same 
  emotions and have most of the same hormones. For all intents 
  and purposes they are just as human as the average Solomani 
  but a few cultural restrictions modify their behaviour.
  Tolerance is an inherent part of growing up in Darrian society. 
  They learn to be open-minded and to see situations from 
  different perspectives. Expressing negative opinion is rare and 
  slander rarer. A Darrian might think those things but would 
  rather not express them publically.
  Self control is another important aspect of cultural upbringing. 
  Darrians are difficult to provoke into expressing anger or outright 
  hostility; they do, of course, get angry but prefer to keep the 
  emotion rigidly suppressed for fear of making bad judgements.
  A primary drive of Darrians is scientific curiosity; they are 
  eternally seeking answers to questions, patterns in data or 
  the empirical truth behind subjective reality. Darrian passion 
  for knowledge is almost pathological, a combination of cultural 
  upbringing and some modifications in their cerebral genome.
  Other than these generalisations, most Darrians are just like 
  other human beings. They feel love and hate, fear and loathing, 
  humour and sorrow. They can also be just as courageous, 
  murderous, treacherous, dishonest or envious as the average 
  man, yet usually keep such feelings carefully concealed behind 
  the public veneer of polite good humour.
  Building CaMpaigns
  Darrian campaigns do not require actually having Darrian 
  adventurers in the group. Many scenarios can easily be based 
  within the Confederation using Darrian patrons or perhaps 
  simply tweaking the player’s own sense of curiosity or desire for 
  high tech toys. A number of mysteries and lost artefacts have 
  been included in the Darrian Secrets and Darrian Worlds 
  
  161
  chapters, enough to fuel several interesting scenarios. Some 
  guidelines for building a Darrian campaign follow.
  To Be or Not to Be... Darrian
  The first aspect the Referee should consider is whether he 
  wants his characters to be citizens of the Darrian Confederation. 
  Of course Darrian citizens can technically be Darrian, Solomani 
  or Aslan, so it is not simply a question of race but one of culture. 
  Darrians are expected to behave in sometimes limited ways, 
  which can often be problematic for more action-based or morally 
  questionable players. There is also the aspect of needing to brief 
  the entire party in advance about the society and psychology of 
  Darrians, which although not particularly difficult, does miss out 
  on the chance to entertain players with the gradual revelation of 
  how alien the Darrians can be.
  Having a single Darrian in a party can be particularly entertaining. 
  With their stronger morals and intellectual drives, a Darrian 
  character can stimulate a great deal of intra-party roleplaying. A 
  Darrian’s physical limitations can also be very challenging for a 
  normal human based party, forcing them to make concessions in 
  crew duties or modifications to their vessels. In return, the group 
  gain a highly educated Darrian who is generally competent in 
  several fields of knowledge.
  Of course the Referee could simply start with a group of normal 
  humans venturing into Confederation space for the first time, 
  ready to be confused by Darrian culture.
  Confederation Space
  The second aspect of a Darrian based campaign is whether 
  to actually place adventures within the borders of the 
  Confederation. Although much of the information in this book 
  describes the worlds and history of the Confederation, a number 
  of planets are technically ruled by foreign polities.  
  A campaign set within the Entropic Worlds, could allow a great 
  deal of interaction with Darrians under the oppressive rule of 
  the Sword Worlds for example. Other ideas could involve the 
  search for Darrian artefacts outside of Confederation space, or 
  encountering a long lost colony in an entirely separate sector. 
  Basing the campaign firmly within the Confederation’s borders 
  provides enough worlds to keep the game interesting for 
  a considerable period, although there is nothing stopping 
  adventures from jumping back and forth between the Sword 
  Worlds and the Darrian Confederation, or the Imperium or even 
  the Zhodani Consulate.
  Darrians being interesting characters in their own right, need not 
  just venture inside their own Confederation. A Darrian scientist 
  or exile could simply be investigating parts of the Imperium, or 
  maybe spying for his home government. Plenty of friction can be 
  generated from having a Darrian turning up on a Sword World.
  Timeline
  The Referee should consider at which point of Darrian history 
  he wishes to set his game. Despite this book defaulting to 1105, 
  enough information exists to set the game at any time before 
  this point. A campaign could easily be placed during the Fourth 
  Frontier War, during which the characters might struggle to 
  prevent the re-annexation of the Entropic Worlds.
  Personal campaigns should not restrict themselves to ‘official’ 
  events either. Referees are encouraged to change historical 
  incidents as they wish, which can often take players with 
  knowledge of Spinward Marches history by surprise, often 
  leading to excitement as they overturn, or are responsible for, 
  key events.
  One perfect period for starting a Darrian campaign is just 
  prior to the Maghiz, perhaps allowing the players to witness 
  the eruption of Tarnis and destruction of their homeworld. The 
  game could revolve around surviving the following dark ages, 
  or suffering a misjump whilst trying to escape, so that they end 
  up 2,000 years in the future – TL16 Darrians in the devolved 
  Third Imperium. 
  CaMpaign ideas
  Listed here are a number of key scenario ideas, which are perfect 
  for Darrian based campaigns. These can be mixed and matched 
  to provide new challenges but with the underlying themes 
  retained to build the overarching storyline. A good campaign 
  should be like a well written book, each chapter an individual 
  scenario but key personalities recurring on a regular basis to 
  give players an emotional tie to the long term plotline. Major Non-
  Player Characters should rarely be expended in direct combat, 
  rather fleeing or avoiding violent confrontation, interacting in 
  social situations, or hinted at by gathered intelligence.
  The best games are like episodes in an ongoing drama, each 
  scenario revealing a further nugget of information to help them 
  succeed in the main plotline, or ending at a climatic cliff hanger 
  ready for the next session.
  Locating a lost Artefact
  Despite the devastation of the Maghiz, a surprising amount of 
  Darrian devices managed to survive the catastrophe. These 
  can vary from simple children’s toys or artwork, all the way up 
  to functional ships. Any TL16 or TL17 equipment could be an 
  invaluable prize for a team of characters. However, the gaining 
  of such things should be an epic quest in its own right, a treasure 
  hunt leading across parsecs to find the next clue. 
  
  162
  Travelling between Darrian universities to access historical 
  records to find the course of a missing ship or locate a forgotten 
  science outpost.
  Stumbling upon the journal of a researcher who found clues to 
  a hidden city abandoned in the rings or atmosphere of a gas 
  giant, only to have the journal stolen shortly after.
  Meeting a drunk miner who claims to know the location of a 
  treasure horde of artefacts buried deep on another world but 
  the miner disappears when visiting the restroom.
  Being approached by a member of a pirate crew who bears a 
  treasure map and wishes to hire the character’s ship to travel 
  to a undeclared world but is being hunted by the rest of his ex-
  compatriots.
  Finding a crystalline ‘key’ that guides the characters from world-
  to-world, each location a long destroyed Darrian historical site 
  requiring an adventure to negotiate, which then triggers the 
  next step.
  Uncovering a governmental cover-up, which is trying to suppress 
  the location of an important site, by scattering or eliminating the 
  members of the team that originally discovered it.
  Smuggling an Artefact
  Somewhat similar to the previous entry, if the characters find a 
  high tech Darrian artefact they will have several options open 
  to them. Keep it, sell it to the Darrians or sell it to a foreign 
  government. The Confederation is extremely stringent about 
  letting artefacts fall into other hands and generally offers a 
  fair price for such discoveries, although haggling by greedy 
  characters will usually prompt the assignment of Darrian agents 
  to recover the artefact by whatever means necessary. Selling 
  outside the Confederation usually requires transporting it out of 
  Darrian space, which is surprisingly difficult, the Darrians having 
  some way of detecting their own technology and possessing 
  many agents in criminal organisations. The money is extremely 
  good – assuming the purchaser is trustworthy of course.
  Approached by an Exile who wishes to leave the Confederation. 
  He promises a king’s ransom for a rapid departure but is 
  noticeably nervous about the contents of his bulging backpack.
  The discovery of a small weapons cache in a nickel-iron 
  asteroid drifting in the outer system allows a selection of mouth 
  wateringly destructive armaments to fall into the characters 
  hands but can they ever use them without drawing attention to 
  themselves?
  An autonomous, fully sapient robot is discovered trapped on 
  a backwater planet. However the world lies within either the 
  Sword Worlds or the Zhodani Consulate and sneaking the AI 
  through civilised territory may be difficult.
  During a regular salvage operation somewhere in the 
  Confederation, a partially functional pre-Maghiz ship is 
  discovered abandoned and drifting. With some repairs and new 
  parts it could possibly be made jump capable again.
  A sealed jar contains what appears to be an inert metallic 
  substance, which upon opening, is revealed to be a pseudo-
  living lifeform, which promptly inserts itself into the nearest 
  character, irrevocably bonding with their body and making them 
  a highly sort after vivisection victim for all those desperate to 
  recover the device.
  The Confederation Government hires the characters to recover 
  a newly located artefact deep in enemy territory but the secrets 
  of the device make it priceless to the very polity they must 
  covertly extract it from. The mission is made more difficult by 
  its huge size.
  Upgrading Equipment
  Probably the best way of introducing established characters 
  to the Confederation, the lure of Darrian technology almost 
  irresistible, being regarded as some of the best available in 
  the Spinward Marches. Of course Darrian equipment is highly 
  expensive so affording a new set of Battledress or a FGMP-15 
  may be beyond the pockets of even the richest dreamer. Even 
  if such items are beyond their personal reach the characters 
  could be hired to transport such high tech goodies, or promised 
  it as payment for aiding a patron. After gaining such equipment 
  characters may be repeatedly drawn back to the Confederation 
  to repair any damaged devices.
  Approached by a shady patron to buy a small consignment of 
  weaponry from Darrian manufacturers. However the patron is 
  in reality a Sword World agent seeking examples of the latest 
  military equipment for his own government.
  Hired to ship a large delivery of very expensive computers, 
  the characters are targeted by a variety of operatives all trying 
  to get their hands on the cargo. They are hounded by femme 
  fatals and foreign agents waylaying them in every port until they 
  leave Darrian space and are instead hunted by pirates.
  Paid to transport a cargo of cutting edge weapons and 
  munitions to a planet undergoing civil war, the characters 
  belatedly discover the courier who should have delivered the 
  activation codes has disappeared. He must be located before 
  their employers are overthrown in the coup d’état.
  Suffering irreparable damage to their drives the characters are 
  rescued by the Darrian navy, who offer to upgrade the ship with 
  military spec equipment in return for a few ‘favours’ scouting 
  out Sword World troop movements, in a series of increasingly 
  dangerous missions.
  
  163
  After purchasing some hi-tech gizmos from a reputable Darrian 
  manufacturer the characters discover that one item has a 
  miniature meson comm built into it, after it activates with an 
  SOS from a Darrian espionage agent captured by enemy spies.
  The characters are accidentally assigned a prototype device 
  that starts to exhibit some form of exceptional capabilities, 
  causing the original manufacturers to hunt them down to 
  recover the device; peacefully at first but with increasing levels 
  of force or persuasion as the research staff become increasingly 
  desperate.
  Liberating the Entropic Worlds
  One of the biggest thorns in the side of the Confederation is the 
  current annexation of the Entropic Worlds. The Darrians have 
  been secretly stockpiling resources in advance of a military 
  expedition to liberate the cluster and ensure the Sword Worlds 
  can never retake them. These preparations have taken the 
  best part of 20 years, involving the sequestration of drop troops 
  in cometary fragments, negotiating loans of Imperial marines 
  and updating (and expanding) its entire fleet. The Darrians 
  will launch their campaign soon, no matter if the 3rd Imperium 
  approve or not. Characters can be involved in these military 
  expeditions in a number of different ways, not necessarily even 
  fighting on the side of the Darrians.
  The characters are hired as a mercenary force to make a series 
  of diversionary attacks on Sword World shipping behind enemy 
  lines. A dangerous mission designed to distract the occupying 
  navies to hunt down the ‘pirates’.
  Delivered to an occupied world by an expendable scout ship, 
  the characters land in stealthed drop pods and then must 
  establish contact with the local resistance forces, passing on 
  classified information that will coordinate an insurgent uprising 
  with the imminent arrival of the Darrian Guard.
  Given a well disguised Q-ship, the characters are hired to act 
  as an expendable assault force to take out communication and 
  sensor stations in advance of the main Darrian fleet arrival.
  Deliberately sent to be captured by Sword World troops, the 
  characters must liberate a high ranking officer in the Darrian 
  militia forces. To help they are given lots of cutting edge 
  equipment to help in breaking him out of the enemy’s military 
  intelligence HQ.
  Hired as a covert commando unit, the characters are ordered to 
  smuggle a single shot EMP bomb into the Sword World naval 
  facilities, unfortunately the presence of an active nuclear damper 
  means someone must penetrate the engineering sections to 
  disable the device before the bomb can be triggered.
  Meeting an old commanding officer in the Imperial Marines, one 
  of the characters has his military status revived and is ordered 
  to accompany an assault on one of the Entropic Worlds, the 
  only positive side being a chance to wear battledress and fire a 
  FGMP-15 again.
  Zhodani Mind Games
  The Zhodani have always been fearful of the Darrians due 
  to their extremely rapid technological development. In return, 
  believing that the Zhodani deliberately left them to fester 
  during their civilisation’s collapse, the Darrians are highly 
  suspicious of their psionic neighbours. The greatest fear of the 
  Confederation are telepathic spies, so most ministry offices, 
  employees and their homes are shielded against psychic attack 
  or subterfuge, and use a very strict need to know protocol to 
  misdirect such eavesdropping. Artificial psionic scanners are 
  installed everywhere on Darrian worlds from the starports to 
  public transport systems in order to detect Zhodani espionage. 
  Campaigns involving Zhodani often involve double-thinking and 
  paranoia.
  Brainwashed by Zhodani psychics, the characters are sent to 
  investigate the intriguing activities of a Darrian Naval officer. 
  They constantly find themselves hacking computer systems, 
  trailing the target in question and engaging in petty kleptomania 
  without realising or understanding why until their mission is 
  completed.
  One character is mentally dominated and forced to attempt 
  an assassination of a high profile Darrian entertainer, which if 
  successful will land the characters in very deep water but it is 
  merely part of a two-step plan to actually murder the presiding 
  judge at the trial via a second mental compulsion.
  Fearing himself the target of a Zhodani spy, a worker at the 
  patent office in the Ministry of Information hires the characters 
  to provide security for both him and his family. A tricky job due 
  to his rampant, unfounded paranoia but ultimately proves true 
  after a number of false alarms.
  A Zhodani agent reads a dirty secret from a character’s past and 
  blackmails him into performing a piece of scientific espionage, 
  ultimately requiring the death or kidnapping of a professor, 
  unless the character attempts to neutralise or report the spy 
  himself.
  Summoned into a top secret meeting with the head of the 
  Confederation, the Premier reports his suspicion that a Zhodani 
  agent has penetrated the Ministry of Defence and orders the 
  characters to identify the spy without alerting the other members 
  of the council.
  The characters are used by a Special Arm officer as patsies 
  to pass on fake intelligence to a known Zhodani operative, a 
  dangerous mission that involves a shootout near the end before 
  the agent escapes.
  
  164
  Militia Duty
  Whilst most fights with the Darrians involve Sword Worlders 
  or Zhodani, there are other circumstances where the Darrian 
  militia are sometimes required to help out. A Darrian who 
  performed military service can always be recalled to duty but if 
  none of the characters are Confederation citizens they can be 
  politely approached and asked for help.
  Characters are recalled to duty to perform a compulsory, 
  planetary scale series of war games. Being notorious trouble-
  shooters they are requested to perform a ‘dirty-dozen’ style 
  mission, without causing any harm or any unnecessary 
  destruction.
  During a series of military exercises a real invasion occurs, 
  forcing the characters to help resist the overwhelming landing 
  forces and then retreat to a pre-prepared subterranean bunker, 
  fighting rearguard actions the entire route across difficult ground 
  whilst running short of munitions.
  A natural disaster strikes, whether a volcano, earthquake, 
  tsunami or something similar, causing one or more characters 
  to be restored to duty and put in charge of saving members of a 
  foreign delegation. Guiding them out of the danger zone, panic 
  spreads and the situation soon deteriorates as the delegates 
  selfishly resort to every man for himself.
  Some form of natural animal native to the planet mysteriously 
  turns psychotic, forcing the militia to fight a war of attrition 
  against their own ecosystem.
  During a regimental reunion, one of the old squad members 
  particularly loathed by his now infirm, aged commander dies 
  bloodily in the toilets. It is up to the characters to discover the 
  motivation for the murder and track down the killer.
  Declared insane, a member of the Special Arm commandos 
  goes on a killing rampage across the region. The characters 
  are requested to stop him, however it turns out that the Special 
  Forces commando has been marked for termination by his own 
  organisation and is desperately seeking a way off planet.
  Alien Encounters
  Alien life is often difficult to identify, let alone empathise or 
  communicate with. There are a number of different species 
  within the Confederation, some hidden from prying eyes, others 
  simply overlooked. What to do with a newly discovered creature 
  is a difficult question since sometimes leaving them alone is 
  the best path. In some circumstances though an alien species 
  may be being exploited or exterminated and somebody needs 
  to make things right.
  Given a live cargo of ‘bee hives’ to deliver somewhere across 
  the Confederation, the insects secretly escape by chewing their 
  way out of their containment chamber and take up residence in 
  the air conditioning conduits. They only come forth to paralyse 
  lone crew members with their poison stings and lay parasitic 
  eggs in the warm incubating bodies. If not stopped the vicious 
  insects begin to eat into critical parts of the shipboard systems.
  The characters discover the reptilian Dphone on Trifuge are being 
  cruelly experimented on by the SuSAG megacorporation, adapting 
  them for menial labourers and frighteningly savage xeno-weapons 
  and must be stopped before the race can be exploited.
  On a legitimate trade or transportation mission to Winston, 
  the character’s ship ceases to respond to controls and crash 
  lands in the thick jungles, where they come into contact with 
  the mythical ‘Lost Darrians’ who somehow drew them down 
  from the sky by performing a ceremonial ritual. Why were they 
  
  165
  summoned and are they capable of supernatural interaction with 
  their planet or is there a hidden piece of high tech responsible?
  During a visit on Jacent, one character has the misfortune to 
  come into contact with one of the infamously fatal crustaceans. 
  Instead of dying instantly the character suffers an incredible 
  euphoric rush and realises that the highly addictive experience 
  is closely guarded secret amongst the native inhabitants who 
  fear its exploitation.
  Whilst transporting a cargo reputed to be jellied sea foods from 
  Jacent, one character hears strange sloshing noises from within 
  one of the large barrels. If opened the barrel if found to contain 
  a live specimen of an extremely rare septapod squid being 
  smuggled off-world. Enraged by its confinement, the creature 
  goes on a murderous rampage and needs to be confined rather 
  than killed, else the crew face charges of ecological abuse 
  when they report the incident.
  The characters are sent to investigate the unusual silence from 
  a new research station located in the upper atmosphere of a 
  gas giant. The base has been torn open in some places and 
  appears to be abandoned, although the occasional blood smear 
  can be found. Further examination, hampered by the need to 
  wear vacc suits, reveals that all the communication equipment 
  has been suspiciously destroyed. Unknown to the investigators 
  the atmosphere is inhabited by a species of imposing creatures, 
  translucent skinned and shaped somewhat like a manta ray. 
  The species is highly sensitive to microwave radiation, which it 
  uses to locate its protoplasmic krill-like food. Characters using 
  their communicators trigger another feeding attack and need to 
  figure out quickly that the only way to survive is to stop speaking 
  to each other via their suit comms.
  Rorre Psychics
  The prevalence of psychics on Rorre is an open secret within the 
  Confederation. Mostly they remain on planet, using their skills to 
  heal and leading peaceful, contemplative lives. Some however 
  are encouraged to take service with the Confederation either 
  in the post of psychoanalysts or as guardians against Zhodani 
  manipulations. Such duties do not always lead to a long and 
  happy life and many Darrian psionics seem to attract trouble.
  A Rorre psychic on a sabbatical from her home planet falls foul 
  of some anti-psionic bigots and approaches the characters 
  for protection and a route back to her homeworld; unwittingly 
  attracting the attention of a Zhodani who wishes to kidnap her 
  for analysis back in the Consulate.
  An Imperial official unwittingly visits Rorre without being 
  informed of potential security risks. Engaging the services of 
  a cultural escort, he mentally lets slip his plans to assassinate 
  the Imperium’s ambassador with a small nuke and falsely plant 
  the blame on the Sword Worlders. The horror causes the escort 
  to accidentally reveal her abilities and fleeing the official’s 
  murderous bodyguards she bumps into the characters.
  Whilst ambling around a marketplace on Rorre, the characters 
  are mysteriously drawn to an old man who claims they possess 
  some latent psychic powers. They are invited to a contemplative 
  monastery where they can be tested after spending several 
  weeks of purification at the retreat.
  Stopped in the street by a passing Darrian, he explains that he 
  felt something ‘odd’ about the character’s mental patterns. He 
  offers to investigate the psychic discrepancies if they are willing 
  to journey to a nearby school of philosophy where his master and 
  adepts reside. If they accept the characters discover they are 
  in actual fact undercover agents who have been reprogrammed 
  with false memories.
  Travelling out to see a famous landmark, a group of meditating 
  Rorre inhabitants become aggravated by the character’s 
  presence. Strangely all devices and vehicles in their immediate 
  presence permanently cease functioning. As they depart, one 
  of the characters overhears a whispered comment from one of 
  the Darrians suggesting that they will soon launch a terrorist 
  crusade against the technological societies of the Spinward 
  Marches.
  Somewhere in or near the Confederation a fleeing psychic 
  bumps into a character and unbeknownst to his companions, 
  affects a mind swap. The dark suited pursuers catch up and 
  take the reeling Darrian (now inhabited by the stunned mind 
  of the character) dragging him off to some nefarious foreign 
  agency interested by the psychic’s unusual abilities. After a 
  while the fake personality becomes evident, forcing a hunt for 
  their friend’s mind trapped in a strange body.
  Developing a new Breakthrough
  Most Darrian scholars are always trying to discover new 
  knowledge, devise refined formulae or invent original devices. 
  In the Confederation your social standing is heavily dependent 
  on your academic career, so the pursuit of information and 
  technology is fundamental. Campaigns can easily be based 
  upon the quest to uncover/recover forgotten data or techniques, 
  or the gathering of required components to launch a vast 
  experiment. The after effects of a discovery can also drive a 
  campaign, especially if the results have potentially cataclysmic 
  effects.
  On the cusp of developing a new form of gravitic drive the Darrian 
  scientist in charge of the project enlists the help of a character 
  skilled in engineering. When activated the experimental device 
  
  166
  goes critical, creating a runaway, gravitationally fluctuating 
  field, which slowly begins to rip the scientific facility apart 
  before overloading in a spectacular explosion. The characters 
  have to evacuate the orbital labs before they are destroyed, 
  but suffer an interesting time as gravity chaotically (and 
  dangerously) changes direction and strength. After they escape 
  the engineering character is arrested and charged with gross 
  misconduct.
  A sociologist makes a public announcement that she has 
  developed formulae that accurately predicts the future actions 
  of socio-political organisations. Her holovised claims draw the 
  unwelcome attention of both the Confederation government and 
  foreign agents, all of whom wish to monopolise her research, 
  forcing her to seek safety with the characters with the hope of 
  changing key events to avert an Armageddon she has forseen 
  between the Confederation and the Zhodani Consulate.
  Professor Davh Behlimus a famous botanist working on the 
  terraforming of Laberv, wishes to collect samples of plant life 
  from across the Confederation in order to prove his theory that 
  all the worlds with active biospheres were genetically modified 
  or introduced by the Ancients 300,000 years ago. Unfortunately 
  the effusive botanist is also an environmental extremist and 
  frequently lands his guides in trouble during their tour.
  As outsiders, the characters are asked to investigate claims 
  of plagiarism and possible homicide against a well respected 
  professor, whose recent up and coming student, a genius by 
  all accounts, has mysteriously disappeared. The professor 
  is innocent of the charges, it is the student who has actually 
  stolen the professor’s research and is currently trying to 
  sell the information to the Naasirka Megacorp and flee the 
  Confederation with the money.
  A second rate scientist believes he has developed a new theory 
  of creating cheap antimatter. Ill regarded by his peers for his 
  eccentric unintelligibility, he asks the characters to transport his 
  experimental AM refinery to the Maghiz Monument in close orbit 
  around Tarnis, the primary star of Daryen, where he plans to 
  illegally set up the device. Amazingly the machine works briefly 
  before a solar flare occurs, forcing the characters to drag the 
  protesting scientist back to the ship and flee before everyone 
  takes a fatal radiation dose. The machine of course, explodes 
  when the flare hits, seriously upsetting the Daryen authorities.
  The characters encounter an old Darrian, once the most 
  brilliant physicist in the Confederation. He claims that he is on 
  the cusp of a revolutionary technological breakthrough, but the 
  Ministry of Information has refused to fund his proof of concept 
  experiment. The scientist asks if the characters can help him 
  build his experimental ansible, leaving them with a data file of 
  technical specs – but the following day the scientist is reported 
  killed in a Grav Car accident, and the characters are soon 
  visited by the Special Arm investigating his demise.
  
  167
  index
  Agent 
  8
  Aging 
  6
  Alien Encounters 
  164
  Anselhome (C110568-8) 
  153
  Archaeologist Zon Dehking 
  109
  Architecture 
  39
  Armour 
  74
  Art 
  38
  Aslan in the Confederation 
  48
  Augments 
  77
  Background Skills 
  6
  Benefits 
  6
  Building Campaigns 
  160
  Campaign Ideas 
  161
  Careers 
  6
  Civilian Starships 
  85
  Colonial Expansion 
  55
  Communications and Computing 
  77
  Communication Technology TL14 
  71
  Community Structures 
  32
  Computer Interfaces 
  85
  Condaria (E54779B-5) 
  124
  Confederation Space 
  161
  Countering the Zhodani 
  65
  Courier (Rehld class)  
  86
  Crews 
  85
  Culture 
  38
  Cunnonic (E65767A-3) 
  125
  Currency 
  74
  Darrian Animals 
  118
  Darrian Capital Ships 
  104
  Darrian Cities 
  112
  Darrian Corporations 
  40
  Darrian Exile 
  37
  Darrian Life Events 
  7
  Darrian Non-Player Characters 
  116
  Darrian Origins 
  49
  Darrian Physiology 
  30
  Darrian Script 
  46
  Darrians in the Game 
  160
  Darrian Starports 
  112
  Darrian Technology 
  71
  Darrian Timeline 
  60
  Developing a new Breakthrough 
  165
  Dice based syllable generation 
  46
  Diet 
  31
  Distinguishing Features 
  107
  Dorannia (E42158A-8) 
  130
  Dress  
  38
  Early Development 
  50
  Education 
  38
  Ektron (C322652-9) 
  131
  Emergency Services 
  38
  Employment 
  37
  Energy Technology TL15 
  72
  Energy Weapons 
  79
  Engrange (C554769-8) 
  133
  Entertainer 
  10
  Entrope (E336A6A-C) 
  155
  Environmental Technology TL14 
  73
  Envoy 
  12
  Family Structures 
  32
  Far Trader (Nalumb class) 
  90
  Fleet Tactics 
  104
  Forced Expansion 
  50
  Gender  
  3
  Generating Darrian Words 
  45
  Government 
  34
  Grammar 
  45
  Guard 
  14
  Guard Organisation 
  44
  Guard Tactics 
  44
  Health 
  38
  Humaniti in the Confederation 
  48
  Initial Character Generation 
  3
  Jacent (A333744-D) 
  136
  Laberv (B354443-7) 
  138
  Language 
  44
  Law 
  36
  Liberating the Entropic Worlds 
  163
  Lifespan 
  31
  llium (B444831-9) 
  134
  Locating a lost Artefact 
  161
  Major Corporations 
  40
  Medical and Survival Gear 
  77
  Medical Technology TL14 
  73
  Merchant 
  16
  Military Starships 
  96
  Militia 
  18
  Militia Duty 
  164
  Ministry of Confederation Appeals 
  36
  Ministry of Defence 
  35
  Ministry of Information 
  35
  Ministry of Trade 
  35
  Mire (A665A95-C) Darrian Capital 
  139
  Motivation 
  107
  Naming Customs 
  4
  Naval Organisation 
  42
  Naval Tactics 
  43
  Navy 
  20
  New Ship Components 
  85
  Night Time 
  57
  Nosea (B2326BB-C) 
  141
  Oddities 
  81
  Onsorik’s Project 
  62
  Passenger Liner (Ldil class) 
  94
  Personal Excellence 
  32
  Pioneer Scout (Thengg class) 
  99
  Police 
  38
  Primitive Weapons 
  78
  Profession 
  106
  Projectile Weapons 
  78
  Random Darrians 
  106
  Random Encounters 
  112
  Random Names 
  108
  Rebuilding the Confederation 
  57
  Recent History 
  59
  Recreation 
  39
  Robots and Drones 
  78
  Roget (B566777-9) 
  142
  Roleplaying Darrians 
  160
  Rorre (D765657-3) 
  143
  Rorre Psychics 
  165
  Rural Areas 
  114
  Sample Darrian Patrons  
  108
  Scholar 
  22
  Secrets of the Special Arm 
  66
  Sensor Technology TL16 
  73
  Ship Design 
  84
  Sigma  Fleet 
  105
  Sigma Naval Base  
  68
  Smuggling an Artefact 
  162
  Social Services 
  37
  Society 
  31
  Special Arm 
  24
  Special Arm Organisation 
  44
  Spiritual and Philosophical Beliefs 
  32
  Spume (C140200-A) 
  144
  Starships and Space Travel 
  65 
  Starting Age 
  4
  Stern-Stern (B321558-B) 
  146
  Stoicism 
  34
  Subversions and Excavations 
  63
  System Defence Boat (Piholz class) 
  101
  Terant 340 (D1405A7-9) 
  147
  The Abh Project 
  64
  The Aslan 
  59
  The Coming of the Solomani 
  53
  The Confederation Council 
  36
  The Crystal Coffin 
  70
  The Darrian’s Ultimate Disaster 
  55
  The Darrian Surge 
  54
  The Entropic Worlds 
  151
  The Frontier Wars 
  58
  The Golden Age 
  54
  The Lost Fleet 
  67
  The Military 
  42
  The Ministry of Finance 
  35
  The Orchards 
  49
  The Rise of the Basins 
  51
  The Star Trigger 
  66
  The Sword Worlds 
  57
  The Third Imperium 
  58
  The Zhodani 
  57
  The Zlodh Empire 
  52
  Timeline 
  161
  To Be or Not to Be... Darrian 
  161
  Tolerance 
  33
  Torment (X233000-0) 
  149
  Torment (X233000-0) 
  157
  Traits 
  3
  Tramp Trader (Gagh class) 
  88
  Transportation Technology TL15 
  74
  Trifuge (C446556-9) 
  149
  Upgrading Equipment 
  162
  Vehicles 
  80
  Wanderer 
  28
  Weapons 
  78
  Weapon Technology TL15 
  74
  Welfare 
  37
  Winston (E887563-6) 
  157
  Worker 
  26
  Worlds 
  105 
  Zamine (C897977-A) 
  150
  Zamsone Yhantof, the Exile 
  108
  Zhodani Mind Games 
  163
  
  168
  w w w . m o n g o o s e p u b l i s h i n g . c o m
  
  US$ 34.99
  This Alien Module explores the mysterious and enigmatic Darrians and their domain within the Spinward 
  Marches. With access to incredible technologies, including the apocalyptic and legendary Star Trigger, the 
  Darrians have nonetheless only a relatively small empire, far from the Third Imperium.
  Alien Module 3 shows you how to create Darrian characters, and explores their psychology, culture, society and 
  technology. New Darrian ships are featured, and every world within their domain is fully detailed, allowing your 
  characters to walk on their surfaces and visit their people.
  To use this supplement, a Referee will require the Traveller Core Rulebook. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Traveller/01 - Classic Traveller/Traveller - The Third Imperium - Alien Module 3 - Darrians.pdf