Fringe Space

Game Description

The majestic bulk of the interstellar battleship H.M.S Praetor, bristling with weaponry, sails serenely through the vast darkness between stars. Suddenly a blip appears on your screen. Bogey's incoming!

"Captain" you call "six hostiles, port low, on an intercept course. Dragonriders sir."

"Understood Liutenant. Activate port laser battries and sound general quarters. And get that damned warwizard up here, pronto!"

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This game will use the SR4E ruleset and will combine magick and metal, but will NOT be the SR4E universe. There will be non-human races(more on those to come), there will be borgs, mages, the Matrix, etc, but the background will be wildly different.

Also, things will start out...a little different. I dont want applications, character histories, or sheets right off the bat. Characters will start out with a pre-determined templates chosen from a single line character quote OR they may come up with a quote of their own, for which I will create a new template. Character creation will be done IN GAME in

Blue Book style, with a few interesting twists.

You'll have full control of your characters, and their creation. I'm not going to force anyone into being anything they aren't interested in. It's just that I plan to roleplay part of the character creation process, and for that part(and that part only), there'll be a minor(very minor) bit of railroading. After that, it's all up to you to choose who/what you are.

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BASICS OF THE FRINGE SPACE CAMPAIGN SETTING
The characters are citizens of a vast, galaxy spanning empire. It's technology level is similiar to that of the Empire in Star Wars. It is a benevolent monarchy, being led by an Emporer and Council. The Imperial core(a large conglomeration of solar systems) is ultra civilized. There is a vast(VAST) Imperial Navy that patrols the spaceways, keeping them safe. Trade is regular. Life is good.

Then there is the Fringe. The fringe is sort of like the wild west, only with spaceships. There is a Space Marshall Fleet, and they do their best. But the area claimed in the fringe is 10 times that of the Core. And there is about 10 times the Navy in the Core as there are Marshalls on the Fringe.

To make life even more interesting, the Imperium has several enemies. On one side, there are the Brill. They are a race of aliens that have invaded the Imperium, carving a large wedge into the fringe. The point of the wedge is aimed straight at the Core. But so far the Navy has managed to halt the advance of the Brill about halfway between that part of the Fringe and the Core.

About 180 degrees in the opposite direction the Imperium has other troubles. The Dylani Confederation. The Confederation is essentially a loose confederation of solar systems on the Fringe. They desire to secede from the Imperium...a desire so strong that they have turned to terrorism to further their goals. The Imperium however is loathe to give up its hold on the Confed Systems, as that part of space is full of mineral rich mining worlds and is one of the very few sources of MightStones in the known galaxy. MightStones are natural mana collectors that act as magical batteries. Their primary function is to allow the conjunction of Magik and Technology.

Magik is also a reality in Fringe Space. Mostly it is the province of the Imperial Navy, and a few select alien races. The science of Technomancy - the art of using MightStones to power and enhance technological items - is(legally) controlled by the Technomancer's guild in the Core. And they only license the use of Technomancy to the Navy, Imperial Intelligence, the Emporer and Council and the Gnomes(see the Races thread). Another of the biggest bones of contention between the Confed and the Imperium is the fact that there is a high percentage of Mages and Technomancers within the Confederacy.

One note about the Brill. They also possess a form of Magik, but it is one so far unknown to Imperial Intelligence. It is mental magik, and has proven a distinct advantage for the reptillian invaders.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT MAGIK

Magik is a manipulation of the Veil. The Veil is basically an omnipresent energy source. It is made up of the life energies of all living things. All living things generate small amounts of energy, just by dint of being alive. Most have too much. That excess is captured in the Veil. When a being is born they are imbued with some Veil energy, and when they die, that energy is returned.

Because of this, all living things have a connection to the Veil. In some, the connection is stronger than others. This allows some to see the Veil, and the manifestations of Magik, and allows others to manipulate the Veil directly. Only beings that can see the Veil can manipulate it. The first type of person is what is called a Practitioner. He/she/it uses rituals, gestures, or formula to manipulate the Veil and perform feats of magik. The second type is called a Pattern Mage. They can literally touch the Pattern of the Veil and manipulate if through sheer willpower.

The TechnoMancers have discovered a way to manipulate the Veil without being able to see it. It involves the use of MightStones. MightStones are natural collection vessels for Mana(Veil energy). By harnessing these Stones with complicated machines they can manipulate the Veil in much the same way as a Practitioner, although, since they cannot see the Veil directly, the control is crude. But, through trial and error, they are getting better every day.

A NOTE ABOUT ATTITUDE

Fringe Space will be very different from what you all are used to playing here. Even though there is magik it is *NOT* D&D in space. You are part of a highly educated, highly advanced society. The average citizen is educated, literate, and at least moderately secure in their position. There is at least one terminal in every household. It functions as phone, tv, stereo, etc, as well as your connection to the GalNet(The galaxy wide equivalent of the Internet).

As a general rule, it is safe to go down to your corner store to get a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs without being armed to the teeth. There are laws, and police to enforce them. In Core-Space you have the Navy, and, on the Fringe, you have the Marshalls. Dirtside each planet has it's own police force, funded by the Imperial Government. However, the further from the Core and the closer to the Frontier you get the less civilized the planets become. On some of the outer edges of the Fringe(The Frontier) many of the planets *are* lawless. But, in the scheme of things, those are a small percentage of Imperium space. In civilized space, civilization rules.

A NOTE ABOUT CRIME

Now, that is not to say that there are no criminals. Of course there are. Where you have people, you have crime. You have the usual mix of criminals that you have in any society. And yes, there is a Syndicate(mafia, mob, whatever). They are well organized, well funded, and noone will talk about them officially.

Then there are the Brill, although currently that is mostly a Navy problem. As for the planets in the wedge they have taken over...well, all non-Brill were reduced to their component atoms and the Brill are currently colonizing those planets. At least, according to the Net.

And then there is the Dylani Confederation. Again, you will hear very little on them from 'Official sources'. But everyone in that section of the Fringe knows about them. They have been performing terrorist operations for the last 36 months and have been frighteningly successful. So successful in fact that the Emperor and Council authorized the creation of a Special Law-Enforcement Division(or SLED) as a joint arm of the Navy and the Marshalls.