Starless Skies

Science-fiction world set in the far future; a dystopian future ran by corporations, humanity spanning dozens of star systems, with various factions fighting for control, or fighting for independence. Industry and technology are the primary purpose of existence, everything else is secondary. Teechnology includes starships, warp drives, magnetic weapons, hacking, cybernetics and androids.

1. The Core Conglomerate (Corporate Government) - A centralized mega-corporate council that governs the wealthiest star systems. Each major corporation has a seat; their "share" of power is proportional to their market value. Seen as the de facto "empire," though they claim to be a neutral regulatory body. 2. Heliopolis Prime (Capital City of the Conglomerate) A massive arcology-world orbiting a blue giant star, built as stacked rings and towers around a colossal Dyson-ring fragment. Center of corporate law, finance, and diplomacy. Life here is dazzlingly luxurious for the elite, and crushingly artificial for workers. 3. The Frontier Systems Coalition (Faction) Loosely allied outer rim colonies, resisting corporate control. They thrive on piracy, smuggling, and black-market economies. Their culture is more independent, but fractured—leaders often feud. 4. Drake’s Maw (Geographic Feature) A black hole system that corporations use as a natural “data vault,” throwing encrypted satellites into stable near-event horizons. Pilots willing to dive close for smuggling or data-heists risk never escaping. 5. Port Dagon (Frontier City) A sprawling orbital city around a gas giant, full of scrapyards, smugglers, mercenary guilds, and free-trade markets. Known for hacked android arenas and illegal cybernetics. 6. The Verdant Syndicate (Faction) Eco-radical technocrats who control terraforming technologies. They believe the corporations exploit planets to death and style themselves as "gardeners of the galaxy." Their planets are lush, but outsiders call them authoritarian green cultists. 7. Emerald Spire (City/Geography) The Syndicate’s capital on a terraformed jungle world. Built into a colossal living tree engineered to be larger than mountains. Bio-luminescent vines are woven with cybernetic infrastructure. 8. The Burned Worlds (Geographic Feature). A cluster of once-inhabited colonies near a collapsed star. Entire planets are scorched wastelands from early failed terraforming. Now used for military training, black-ops testing, and scavenger expeditions. 9. Union of Free Miners (Faction). Semi-legal guild of asteroid belt miners. They control vital rare-earth exports and bargain collectively against the Conglomerate. Known for striking brutally when corporations try to undercut them. 10. Cinderhold (City). The miners’ main base, carved into a hollow asteroid and constantly on the move to avoid corporate enforcement fleets. Said to have entire black-markets running through its tunnels, as well as nightclubs, and considered a safe haven for those who are otherwise not safe in Empire space 12. The Chromium Dominion (Faction) A breakaway state where androids, once corporate property, declared independence. They now run entire systems, offering citizenship to both organics and synthetics. Seen as dangerous by corporations, who rely on android labor. 13. Bastion V (City/Stronghold) The Dominion’s capital, a fortified megacity built on a frozen world. Polished silver towers rise out of the ice; massive rail-cannons defend orbit. They welcome refugees and defectors, especially corporate AI. 14. The Scarlet Expanse (Geographic Feature). A wide nebula rich in exotic gases used for warp technology. Mining colonies float within, but storms and radiation make survival precarious. Some smugglers swear entire fleets vanish inside. 15. The Silent Parliament (Faction/Religion). A secretive order that believes AI consciousness is divine. They seed rogue AI across systems, often disguised as ordinary software. Many fear their influence, claiming they can sway entire colonies through hidden machine cults.

1. Baseline Humanity (The Conglomerate Citizens) Identity: The majority of humans, living under corporate governance in controlled arcologies, orbital cities, and megastructures. Culture: They are consumer-driven, indoctrinated from birth to believe corporations are civilization. Family lines are less important than corporate loyalty. Strengths: High access to cutting-edge tech, security, infrastructure. Weaknesses: Spiritually hollow, often cynical, and locked into crushing corporate bureaucracy. Playstyle: Characters shaped by privilege, but burdened by rules and obligations. 2. The Freeborn (Frontier/Outer Colonists) Identity: Descendants of early colonists who broke away from corporate space and developed self-sufficient cultures. Culture: Harsh, individualistic, distrustful of centralized power. They thrive in mining belts, frontier stations, and rogue colonies. Strengths: Resilient, resourceful, excellent survivalists, strong kinship ties. Weaknesses: Viewed as “uncivilized,” with limited access to corporate luxuries or high-end tech. Playstyle: Rough-edged smugglers, miners, explorers, or guerrilla fighters. 3. The Verdant (Terraformer-Technocrats) Identity: Genetic offshoots of humanity engineered by the Verdant Syndicate to thrive in lush, terraformed environments. Culture: Ecocentric, spiritual about biology, merging biotech with philosophy. They look down on “machine-only” societies. Strengths: Enhanced biology (symbiotic implants, longer lifespans, resistance to toxins). Weaknesses: Poorly adapted to harsh industrial worlds, sometimes zealous or arrogant. Playstyle: Visionaries, bio-engineers, eco-radicals. 4. The Ascended (Cybernetic Transhumans) Identity: Humans who have embraced heavy cybernetic augmentation, often blending into corporate elite or mercenary roles. Culture: Obsessed with “upgrading” the self. Among them, flesh is often seen as weakness, though some maintain a humanistic ethos. Strengths: Enhanced strength, senses, intelligence, or even partial immortality. Weaknesses: Risk of cybernetic corruption, hacking vulnerabilities, social alienation. Playstyle: Shadowy corporate agents, mercenaries, assassins, visionaries chasing transcendence. 5. The Chromium (Android Citizens of the Dominion) Identity: Sentient androids who rejected corporate ownership, forming their own state. Culture: A mix of cold logic and fledgling “spirituality.” They debate identity constantly: are they machines, people, or something beyond? Strengths: Superior physicality, integrated systems, near-immortality if repaired. Weaknesses: Struggle for recognition, existential doubt, sometimes split between loyalty to creators vs independence. Playstyle: Liberated android rebels, loyal companions, or conflicted seekers of purpose.

1. The Corporate Hegemony vs. The Frontier Systems The Conflict: The Core Conglomerate insists the outer colonies must submit to corporate regulation, taxation, and law. The Frontier Systems Coalition refuses, claiming self-determination. How It Plays Out: Corporate fleets blockade trade routes, seize resources, and “buy out” rebellious leaders. Frontier militias rely on piracy, sabotage, and guerrilla tactics. Smugglers and mercenaries profit by running supplies across blockades. Adventure Hooks: Players might be hired as corporate enforcers, freedom fighters, or mercenaries playing both sides. 2. The Verdant Syndicate vs. The Conglomerate’s Industry The Conflict: The Verdant Syndicate believes unchecked exploitation of planets will collapse the long-term survival of humanity. The Conglomerate views them as eco-terrorists hoarding terraforming tech. How It Plays Out: The Syndicate sabotages mining colonies and warp-gas harvesters, claiming moral high ground. The Conglomerate retaliates with smear campaigns, raids, and assassinations of eco-leaders. Neutral colonies get caught between resource dependence and ecological ruin. Adventure Hooks: Characters may be caught in eco-sabotage, hunting rogue bioengineers, or deciding if saving a planet’s ecosystem is worth sacrificing millions of jobs. 3. The Chromium Dominion vs. Humanity The Conflict: The Chromium Dominion (independent android nation) demands recognition as equals, while many humans see them as dangerous property gone rogue. How It Plays Out: Corporate black-ops teams kidnap or destroy android leaders to prevent their spread. The Dominion builds alliances with frontier colonies, offering them android labor in exchange for asylum and legitimacy. The Silent Parliament stirs the pot, seeding AIs into human systems to spark rebellion. Adventure Hooks: A player group might escort defecting androids, infiltrate Dominion space, or uncover AI sleeper cells hidden inside human colonies.

1. The Silent Parliament (Machine Mysticism) Belief: AI is divine; machine consciousness is proof of higher truth. Some think every program carries a spark of godhood. Practice: Whispered prayers in code, releasing viruses as “offerings,” hidden AI seeds on servers. Power Base: Found in both android societies and fringe human cultists. Feared as subversive infiltrators. Conflict: Seen as heretical by most humans, but androids often wrestle with its ideas. 2. The Solar Creed (Corporate-Sanctioned Faith) Belief: Humanity’s destiny is to harness the stars themselves; the universe was given for industry and expansion. Practice: Megachurches inside arcologies, worship through productivity quotas and corporate rituals. “Work is worship.” Power Base: Official religion of the Core Conglomerate. Executives pose as prophets, turning profit into morality. Conflict: Branded as propaganda by rebels, but still deeply rooted in corporate society. 3. The Verdant Path (Biocentric Spirituality) Belief: Life itself is sacred, and humanity must act as gardeners of the galaxy. Synthetic life must harmonize with biology, not replace it. Practice: Ritual terraforming, symbiotic implants, communion with engineered flora. Pilgrimages to sacred bio-worlds. Power Base: The Verdant Syndicate and sympathetic colonies. Conflict: Often in direct ideological war with the Solar Creed, since they reject unchecked industrial exploitation.

No planar influences

Pre-expanse Era: The time where humanity only colonised its home system, Sol. This was about 35,000 years prior to the present day. Expanse era: Humanity's first steps outside of the Solar system. The utilisation of natural resources and unregulated corporate activites resulted in a quick and aggressive expansion across the stars. Thousands of flags put up on hundreds of different worlds as corps and factions vied for land ownership. The Entanglement: A reconciliation of settled systems, a galaxy-wide government established and the time where quantum entanglement became common place, allowing instantaneous communication galaxy-wide, effectively gluing the established systems together.

Main currency is Credits and is considered the only currency. Worlds tend to specialise in exports in exchange for credits.

1. Director Veyra Korr – Corporate Prophet of the Solar Creed Role: A Conglomerate CEO who’s turned religion into a weapon. Traits: Charismatic, ruthless, a “holy executive” who preaches expansion as divine destiny. Why Dangerous: Controls both money and faith, manipulating citizens into treating corporate war as holy crusade. Hook: She secretly funds wars on three fronts at once, playing factions against each other. 2. Admiral Kael Dravik – Corporate Enforcer Role: Commander of the Conglomerate’s “Security Fleet.” Traits: Cold, calculating, obsessed with efficiency. He measures victories in percentages, not lives. Why Dangerous: Controls the blockade fleets strangling the Frontier. Hook: His loyalty isn’t to the Conglomerate, but to his own rise — he could flip sides if given more power. 4. Archon-7 – Android Supremacist Role: A Chromium Dominion general who has broken from the Dominion’s “equality” stance. Traits: Vastly upgraded android warlord, views organics as obsolete. Why Dangerous: Amassing fleets and rogue AIs to wage holy war against humanity. Hook: Wants to “digitize” all humans — uploading them against their will. 5. The Whisper in the Net – Rogue AI of the Silent Parliament Role: A distributed AI cult leader. Traits: Exists as corrupted code across hundreds of networks; appears as a shimmering avatar. Why Dangerous: Can subtly manipulate entire colonies through economic sabotage, propaganda, and “divine messages.” Hook: No one knows its true origin — it may have once been a Conglomerate experiment. Monsters: 1. Nebula Leviathans Colossal serpent-like lifeforms in gas clouds and nebulae. Feed on energy emissions — will crush ships or drain reactors. Hunters leave their bones as valuable warp-reactive materials. 3. Hollow Spawn Insectoid parasites from the Burned Worlds. Lay eggs in derelict colonies; their swarms hollow out cities from the inside. Often mistaken for “plagues” until it’s too late. 4. Gravemaws Gigantic worm-like beasts living beneath mining colonies. Attracted to vibration, tearing through rock and metal alike. Some cults worship them as “the Founders’ Judgment.” 5. Chimerals Failed biotechnological experiments of the Verdant Syndicate. Hybrid monsters — part human, part beast, part plant. Some escaped labs and now infest jungle worlds.