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Explore. Expand. Exploit. Exterminate.
In Stars Without End, humans unlock the secrets of the spike drive in the early-22nd century. Spike drives, and spike drive-prepared ships, drill into a metadimension to travel large distances through space rapidly. Very soon, humans began a colonization wave that would colonize every habitable world within a year’s spike drive.
Alarmed by the growing independence and lawlessness of the frontier worlds, the governments of Earth, through the United Nations, created the Starways Pact. The Starways Pact was an organization dedicated to policing human space, exerting authority, and forbidding colonization beyond the existing rim. During this period, the first children exhibiting psychic abilities were born. These abilities, when used, cause rapid degradation of the user’s neural system. It would be decades before a regimen of meditation and control would be developed that would limit the damage to “less critical” parts of the brain. Because only a trained psychic mentor can reliably train an untrained psychic, the Psychic Authority was created.
Over time, powerful psychics pushing themselves to the limit of human tolerance helped fabricate “pretech”. Pretech is miraculous technology that slightly deviated from known laws of science, allowing for revolutions in energy and material sciences. The most important piece of pretech was the jump gate, a structure built on the edge of a solar system that could throw a ship dozens of light years across a galaxy to another jump gate. The only bottleneck to the creation of jump gates was the number of psychics needed to power and control the jumping mechanisms.
By 2600, spike drives were antiquated tech, found almost exclusively in frontier space. Jump gates allowed for the Starways Pact to centralize control over human space to Earth, but only to a limited degree. As the second wave of colonization began, the Starways Pact learned it simply lacked the manpower and resources to police the many colonies of humanity.
This all came to an end in 2665. A massive wave of metadimensional energy crashed into human space. Any spike drive craft in metaspace was lost, and every psychic in human space was killed save a few that fell into insanity. The jump gates no longer functioned.
Six hundred years has passed since the Silence, and humans are not beginning to step off their worlds once more to explore forgotten stars and planets, expand into new systems, exploit vital resources, and eliminate the competition.
Welcome to Stri
Stri is the home of 1.3 billion humans. Of these 1.3 billion humans, 1.2 billion live on Zeonia and Apleawei.
Zeonia, under the military dictatorship of the Tebluoze Armed Forces, rules the Terra-class planet of roughly 340 million people with a velvet fist, using access to social spending as the main lever of control. Massive automated mining operations dot the surface of the planet, and every pie has a TAF finger in it.
Apleawei, a planet of roughly 961 million, is fragmented and in the midst of global civil war as a myriad of factions vye for control of the planet. From this planet comes the Eclipse Corporation, a megacorporation that owns Trouminides, a moon of the gas giant Degruoruta. Trouminides supplies all warring factions and militaries across the solar system with Leucserite, a crystal vital to creating batteries for laser weapons.
Beyond Zeonia and Apleawei we have Rusweozuno, a planet controlled by the humanist Universal Euwetism Church. Originally native to Zeonia, the UEC fled the planet to escape persecution. Rusweozuno made a natural choice, as the bizarre geography of the planet fueled the imagination of artists and zealots alike.
On Smeron, orbiting Crejuphus, is inhabited by a thousand people stranded within the confines of a city floating above the surface of the moon. Smeron City was a colonization attempt sponsored by a Apleawei company that went belly up when the civil war broke out, leaving the colonists to more or less fend for themselves. The same is true of the Zuflolla Colony, now down to under a hundred survivors.
To end our tour of populated space, we have Etherth. Etherth is home to an exchange consulate: The Etherth Exchange Consulate, a successor of the galactic Exchange of Light that specialized in banking and diplomacy across human space.
A Quick and Dirty List of the Planets and Moons of Stri, as well as Assets
Map of the Galactic Area. Hexes = Sectors.
Fill out the following!
Faction Name
Homeworld:
Primary/Secondary/Tertiary Attribute:
Tag:
History and Description:
Zuflolla, Tromunides, and Smeron are off limits for homeworlds.
Attributes are Force, Cunning, and Wealth.
Factions
A faction in Stars Without End is any significant influential organization. This ranges from massive corporations, churches, governments, and their sub-factions. A faction is defined by its homeworld, tag, and six statistics. The homeworld is the world the faction is headquartered, and a tag is a special trait of the faction. The six statistics are Hit Points, Force, Cunning, Wealth, FacCreds, and XP.
Hit Points: Faction's resilience to disruption and attack. Faction collapses at 0.
Force: Faction's aptitude for and ability to apply physical violence.
Cunning: Faction's skill at espionage, infiltration, internal security, and covert manipulation.
Wealth: Faction's commercial, scientific, and industrial resources.
FacCreds: General wealth and resources.
Experience Points: Used to create sub-factions and level up.
Faction Assets
Each faction possesses assets. Assets are used to carry out the will of the faction.
Assets have HP and purchase costs, types, and sometimes maintenance costs. Many assets have an attack ability and counterattack ability.
Assets have a location. Assets cannot be used against different locations unless they are first transported there.
Many assets have a tech requirement, meaning they can only be built on worlds with the correct technology.
If a faction owns more assets of a particular type than they have points in the relevant rating, they must pay 1 FC per asset over. A Force-3 faction with 4 Force assets must pay an additional 1 FC a turn.
Faction Turns and Actions
Each turn is one standard year.
Attack: To launch an attack, the attacker chooses one or more assets on a world and targets a rival faction with assets on the same world. Attacking assets are matched against defending assets chosen by the defender. Each attacking asset can only attack once per turn, but a defending asset can defend as many times as the defender wishes.
The attacker rolls a 1d10 and adds the relevant attribute for the asset. A military unit’s Attack might add the faction’s Force to the attack roll, for example. The defender rolls 1d10 and adds the attribute the attack targets. A military unit, for example, might target the defender’s force rating.
If successful, the attacker deals attack damage. If not, the defender deals counterattack damage if applicable. In the event of a tie, both attack and counterattack are triggered.
Buy Asset: The faction can buy assets on their homeworld and worlds on which they have Bases of Influences. These assets cannot be used the turn they are created.
Change Homeworld: A faction can move to a new homeworld if they have a Base of Influence on the destination world. If the destination is within the system, this is instant. If the destination is in a different star system in the sector, this takes the entire turn during which no other action can be taken. For every hex beyond the sector, it takes another turn during which no other actions can be performed.
Expand Influence: The faction buys a Base of Influence asset on a planet on which they have at least one other asset. The faction rolls a 1d10+Cunning against similar rolls by every other faction on the planet. Any of the others that equal or beat the faction’s roll may make an immediate free Attack against the Base of Influence if they wish.
Refit Asset: Change one asset to any other asset of the same type. If the new asset is more expensive than the existing asset, pay the difference. The asset must be on a planet that allows the purchase of a new asset. Refitted assets cannot attack or defend until the beginning of next turn.
Repair Assset/Faction: Heal damage to an asset or faction. For 1 FC, an asset heals points of damage equal to the faction’s score in its ruling attribute. If used to heal a faction, the faction regains hit points equal to the rounded average of its highest and lowest attribute ratings.
Sell Assets: Asset is disbanded. Gain half the FC cost of the asset, rounded down.
Seize Planet: The faction attempts to seize control of a planet. The faction must destroy all unstealthed assets on the planet belonging to factions opposing the attempt. If all assets are not destroyed in one turn, the planet is plunged into civil war during which no faction is considered the government of the planet. After all resistance has been crushed, the attacker must maintain at least one unstealthed asset on the world for three turns, after which they gain a Planetary Government tag for the world.
Use Asset Ability: Use the special ability of an asset.
Faction Goals
A faction goal is a mission a faction chooses for itself. When successful, the faction gains XP. Once a goal is completed, the faction may choose another one. If a faction chooses to abandon a goal, the faction loses an entire turn of income and cannot perform any other actions that turn. The more difficult a goal, the more XP it will yield.
Military Conquest: Destroy Force assets of rival factions equal to your faction’s Force rating. Difficulty is ½ the number of destroyed assets, rounded up.
Commercial Expansion: Destroy Wealth assets equal to your faction’s Wealth rating. Difficulty is ½ the number of destroyed assets, rounded up.
Intelligence Coup: Destroy Cunning assets equal to your faction’s Cunning Rating. Difficulty is ½ the number of destroyed assets, rounded up.
Planetary Seizure: Take control of a world. Difficulty is equal to half the average of the current ruling faction’s Force, Cunning, and Wealth. If the planet lacks any opposing faction to resist the seizure, it counts as 1 Difficulty. Colonizing unsettled worlds does not count as a seizure.
Expand Influence: Plant a Base of Influence on a new world. Difficulty 1 + 1 if the attempt is contested.
Bloody the Enemy: Inflict Hit Point damage on enemy factions equal to your faction’s total Force, Cunning, and Wealth. Difficulty 2.
Peaceable Kingdom: Launch no attacks on rival factions for four turns. The faction may still defend and counterattack. Difficulty 1.
Destroy the Foe: Destroy a faction. Difficulty 1 + the average of the faction’s Force, Cunning, and Wealth.
Inside Enemy Territory: Plant stealthed assets on worlds with other planetary governments equal to your cunning score. Units that are already stealthed on worlds when this goal is adopted don’t count. Difficulty 2.
Invincible Valor: Destroy a Force asset with a minimum purchase rating higher than your faction’s Force. If you have Force-3, y ou must destroy an asset with Force-4 or higher. Difficulty 2.
Wealth of Worlds: Spend FC equal to 4x your faction’s Wealth rating on bribes and influence. The faction’s Wealth rating must increase before the goal can be selected again. Difficulty 2.
Faction Attributes, Hit Points, and Creating New Factions
A sub-faction costs, at minimum, 3 XP to create and begins with Force-1, Cunning-1, and Wealth-1. You choose the appropriate tag and homeworld for the new faction.
Faction attributes can be raised at the beginning of a turn. The cost of raising a faction’s attribute depends on the following.
Rating: XP Cost (HP)
1: 0 (1)
2: 2 (2, from here on out XP cost = HP bonus)
3: 4
4: 6
5: 9
6: 12
7: 16
8: 20
Going from Force-1 to 2 costs 2 XP. Going from 2 to 3 would cost 4 XP. Going from 1 to 3 would cost 6 XP.
A faction’s health is equal to 4 + Force Health + Cunning Health + Wealth Health. A 8/8/8 faction would have 64 health.
Buying Faction Assets
Assets can be normally purchased on any world the faction has a Base of Influence and sufficient tech for. However, there are a few restrictions.
Starship-type purchases cannot be purchased on a world with less than 100,000 inhabitants.
Some assets require the permission of the planetary government to purchase them or move them onto the planet, and this is not a formality. NPC planetary governments usually can be bribed, but they will never permit the landing or creation of a unit that would threaten their own government.
Homeworlds and Bases of Influence
Bases of Influences are special assets that do not count against any asset limits. A faction cannot buy assets on a world without a Base of Influence.
A faction can only have one Base of Influence on a world at a time. Bases of Influence cannot be moved once put into place. Bases of Influence have zero resale value, but can be sold to other factions.
The cost of a Base of Influence in FC is equal to its maximum hit points, which can be up to the owning faction’s maximum hit points. Damage done to a Base of Influence is also done directly to a faction’s hit points. If a Base of Influence is brought below zero hit points, overflow damage is not counted against the owning faction’s hit points.
Every faction has a homeworld. A homeworld has a Base of Influence with a maximum hit point value always equal to the faction’s maximum hit points.
Faction Tags
Faction tags is a unique trait for a faction. Some tags are restricted to special cases.
Colonists: Restricted to new factions colonizing previously unpopulated worlds. The faction has all the benefits of the Planetary Government tag for its homeworld, and the homeworld is set to Tech 4. However, a colony is unable to build Starshi-type assets until it loses this tag at 100,000 people. At 100k, this faction can choose a new tag.
Deep Rooted: This faction can roll one additional d10 when defending against attacks on assets on their homeworld. If the faction ever changes homeworlds, this tag is lost.
Exchange Consulate: This faction is led through or has close ties with the Exchange of Light. Whenever this faction completes a Peaceable Kingdom goal, they roll a 1d6. On 4+, they gain +1 XP. This faction may also roll an extra d10 when defending against a Wealth attack.
Fanatical: Any dice roll of 1 is rerolled, but the faction always loses ties during attacks.
Imperialists: This faction may roll an extra d10 for attacks made as part of a Seize Planet action.
Machiavellian: Once per turn, this faction can roll an additional d10 when making a Cunning attack.
Mercenary Group: All assets gain Drive-1 capability, meaning they can move to any planet in a system or move to another system within the sector.
Nomads: This faction’s homeworld is a massive starship! The starship can move to any world within the sector and is capable of deep space travel of one hexes. The starship can carry any number of Military Units, Special Forces, and Starships. The faction’s HP is halved. If this faction ever changes its homeworld to a world, this trait is lost, as well as the starship! This tag can be taken with any other tag except Colonists and Deep Rooted.
Pirates: Any movement of an asset onto a world or into a planetary system that has a Base of Influence for this faction costs one extra FC, paid to this faction.
Planetary Government: The faction’s permission is required to buy or import assets marked as needing government permission. This tag exists for every world controlled.
Plutocratic: One per turn, this faction can roll an additional d10 when making a Wealth attack.
Savage: Once per turn, this faction can roll an extra die when defending with an asset that requires tech level 0 to purchase.
Scavengers: Whenever this faction destroys an asset, or has an asset destroyed, they gain one FC.
Secretive: All assets purchased by this faction automatically begin Stealthed, including Bases of Influence.
Technical Expertise: This faction treats all planets on which they have a Base of Influence as if they were at least Tech-4. They can build starship-type assets on any world with at least 10,000 people.
Theocratic: Once per turn, this faction can roll an extra d10 when defending against a Cunning attack.
Warlike: Once per turn, this faction can roll an additional d10 when making a Force attack.
Planetary Governance
Planetary Governments have one of four government types: Democratic, Oligarchic, Dictatorial, and Imperial.
Democratic governments host regular elections. Factions can spend FacCreds to build up popular support. The faction of coalition of factions with 50%+1 of support becomes the ruling government. Only factions with a base of influence can be elected.
In Oligarchic governments, any faction with an unstealthed base of influence on the world has two votes and can be voted for. Whichever faction gets the most votes becomes the ruling government.
In a Dictatorship, one faction rules uncontested. There are no elections. However, there is a chance of sudden challenges to the dictatorship.
Imperial governments work like dictatorships. However, there’s a chance of generating heirs. A heir will randomly choose a faction with an unstealthed base of influence on the planet as a favorite, weighted toward factions with a stronger presence on the planet. Upon the death of the monarch, the legitimate successor takes power unless challenged by other heirs.
Controlling a planet means factions need your permission in order build certain assets. You can, in theory, forbid factions from a planet or forbid factions from constructing any asset on the planet without your permission, but this comes down to your ability to enforce these laws with Force, Cunning, or Wealth.
Building Assets
There is a list of assets in the workbook.
Some assets have a permission requirement. This is NOT a formality. On planets with fragmented control, the permission requirement is not required.
All assets have their purchase costs modified by the planet’s stats.
Atmospheres
Airless/Thin: +1 FC to cost
Inert: +2 FC to cost
Corrosive: +3 FC to cost
Thick: +1 FC upkeep
Invasive: +2 FC upkeep
Corrosive and Invasive: +3 FC upkeep
Temperatures
Frozen/Burning: +3 FC to cost and upkeep
Cold to Temperate and Temperate to Warm: +2 FC to cost
Cold and Warm: +1 FC to cost
Beyond these modifiers, Wealth assets have special modifiers to their cost based on the planet’s population, tech level, and existing wealth assets. Keep an eye out for this modifier before building!
Tech Levels
Tech 0: Stone Age and Bronze Age
Tech 1: Iron Age, Late Medieval Age, and Renaissance
Tech 2: Steam Age, Industrial Age, Machine Age
Tech 3: Atomic Age, Early Space Age
Tech 4: Baseline
Tech 5: Pretech
Deep Space Travel
Travel through deep space is slow and prone to errors. Spike drives can malfunction, throwing ships far of course toward distant star systems, for example.
The fastest spike drive assets can reach the nearest populated sectors in one year. The slower spike drive assets capable of deep space travel can take longer.
Assets that can move other assets without moving themselves cannot move other assets while they’re moving assets through deep space because of the logistical planning and concentration needed for deep space travel.
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