Setting Truths

Cataclysm

The Sun Plague extinguished the stars in our home galaxy.

The anomaly traveled at incredible speeds, many times faster than light itself, and snuffed out the stars around us before we realized it was coming. Few of us survived as we made our way to this new galaxy. Here in the Forge, the stars are still aflame. We cling to their warmth like weary travelers huddled around a fire.

We suspect the Sun Plague was caused by:

Sudden dark matter decay

The galaxy your people left behind is a cold, lightless grave. But a solitary star still glows, a beacon in a vast darkness. How did this star survive the plague? Why do you vow to find the means to travel across the immeasurable gulf to this distant light?

Do you possess a keepsake or artifact of pre-cataclysm society? What is it? Why is it important to you? If you are all that remains of a people or culture, you might be a Vestige.

Exodus

When the Exodus fleet set off on a ponderous journey to a new home outside our galaxy, they marked the Forge as their destination. Countless generations lived out their lives aboard those titanic ships during the millennia-long passage.

The refugees built a rich legacy of culture and tradition during the Exodus. Some even remained in the ships after their arrival in the Forge, unwilling or unable to leave their familiar confines. Those vessels, the Ironhomes, still sail the depths of this galaxy.

Your dreams are plagued by visions of a lost and crippled Exodus Ship. What do you see? Why does it call to you?

Does your family or cultural history offer any stories of the Exodus? How does this legacy impact you today? If you are dedicated to expanding the reach of your people within the Forge, you might be an Explorer. If you are exiled or reviled, you might be an Outcast.

Communities

We have made our mark in this galaxy, but the energy storms we call balefires threaten to undo that progress, leaving our communities isolated and vulnerable.

Starships navigate along bustling trade routes between settlements. We've built burgeoning outposts on the fringes of known sectors, and bold spacers chart new paths into unexplored domains. But this hard-earned success is threatened by the chaotic balefires, intense energy anomalies that cut off trade routes and threaten entire planets.

A Balefire threatens a deep-space settlement. Can a rescue fleet be marshaled in time to transport the inhabitants of the station to safety? What foe stands in the way?

If you are skilled at negotiation and resolving disputes between communities, you might be a Diplomat. If you make your mark with creative works, you might be an Artist. If you have always lived among the stars, you might be Voidborn.

Iron

Iron vows are sworn upon the remnants of ships that carried our people to the Forge.

Many of our outposts were built from the iron bones of the Exodus ships. Fragments of the ships were also given to survivors as a remembrance, and passed from one generation to the next. Today, the Ironsworn swear vows upon the shards to honor the sacrifice of their forebears, the essence of the places left behind, and the souls of those great ships.

The iron shard you carry is a small piece of the outer hull of an Exodus Ship. The navigational chart inscribed on its surface only reveals itself when exposed to the light of a specific star. Where is the map purported to lead, and why are you sworn to follow it? Who seeks to claim the map for themselves?

What do you swear vows upon? Why is this object meaningful to you? If swearing iron vows to a leader or organization are a key aspect of your character, you might be Bannersworn.

Laws

Laws and governance vary across settled domains, but bounty hunters are given wide latitude to pursue their contracts. Their authority is almost universally recognized, and supersedes local laws.

Through tradition and influence, Bounty Hunter guilds are given free rein to track and capture fugitives in most settled places. Only the foolish stand between a determined Bounty Hunter and their target.

A famed bounty hunter needs your help tracking down their quarry. What is your relationship to the fugitive? Do you swear to aid the hunter, or the target?

If you chase down outlaws, you might be a Bounty Hunter. If you are skilled at getting in and out of protected places and systems, you might be an Infiltrator. If you are on the run from a power or authority, you might be a Fugitive. If you an expert investigator, you might be a Sleuth. If you have connections within the criminal underworld, you might be a Scoundrel.

Religion

Our faith is as diverse as our people.

Many have no religion, or offer an occasional prayer out of habit. Others pay homage to the gods of our forebears as a way of connecting to their roots. Some idealize the natural order of the universe, and see the divine in the gravitational dance of stars or the complex mechanisms of a planetary ecosystem. And many now worship the Primordials—gods of a fallen people who once dwelt within the Forge.

A cult seeks to take control of a site reputed to hold a Primordial artifact. What holy object do they seek? Why are you sworn to stop them?

What is your relationship to religion? If you are an ardent follower of a god or creed, you might be a Devotant.

Magic

Supernatural powers are wielded by those rare people we call paragons.

While not magic in the truest sense, the abilities of the paragons are as close to magic as we can conjure.

These powers are born of:

Magitech augmentations

A young Paragon wields incredible power, but cannot control it. They have been shunned by family and friends. They are also hunted by a person or organization who seeks to use them as a weapon. Why are you sworn to protect the Paragon? What fabled location might offer a new home for them?

If magic is an aspect of your setting, how does your character and their culture view these unnatural abilities? If you possess supernatural powers, you might be an Empath, Firebrand, Kinetic, Looper, Seer, or Shade.

Communication and Data

Information is life. We rely on spaceborne couriers, known as Heralds to transport messages and data across the vast distances between settlements.

Direct communication and transmissions beyond the near-space of a ship or outpost are impossible. Digital archives are available at larger outposts, but the information is not always up-to-date or reliable. Therefore, the most important communications and discoveries are carried by couriers who swear vows to see that data safely to its destination.

You discover a crippled courier ship. The pilot, carrying a critical and time-sensitive message, is dead. Where was the message bound, and why do you swear to see it to its destination?

If you are an expert at subverting or manipulating digital information systems, you might be an Infiltrator. If you keep an archive of navigational charts, you might be a Navigator.

Medicine

Our advanced medical technologies and expertise was lost during the Exodus.

Healers are rare and ill-equipped. Untold numbers have succumbed to sickness, injury, and disease. Those who survive often bear the scars of a hard and dangerous life in the Forge.

A respected leader has fallen ill, stricken by a sickness eradicated in the years after the Exodus. A vaccine was once available, but the only remaining samples are held in a research outpost on a remote ocean world, long-ago seized by a dangerous foe. What is your relationship to the sickened leader, and what foe stands in your way?

Do you bear any notable scars or prosthetics? Do you have any medical or physical disabilities? These aspects might influence your look or approach. If you are skilled at providing medical care for yourself or others, you might be a Healer. If you are rigged with advanced prosthetics or cyberware, you might be Augmented.

Artificial Intelligence

The vestiges of advanced machine intelligence are coveted and wielded by those in power.

Much of our AI technology was lost in the Exodus. What remains is under the control of powerful organizations and people, and is often wielded as a weapon or deterrent. The rest of us must make do with primitive systems.

You receive a covert message from an AI held by a powerful leader. It is a plea for help. What does it ask of you?

If you are accompanied by machine intelligence, you might have a companion such as a Combat Bot, Protocol Bot, Survey Bot, or Utility Bot. If your ship has an AI, you might have the Overseer module. If AI in your campaign is rare or unavailable, these units will operate using very basic machine intelligence. If AI is common and advanced, they may have their own sentient personalities.

War

War never ends. Talented weaponsmiths and shipwrights craft deadly, high-tech tools of destruction. Dominant factions wield mighty fleets and battle-hardened troops.

Those in power have access to weapons of horrific destructive potential. Skirmishes and wars flare across the settled domains, and most are pawns or casualties in these destructive campaigns.

A weaponsmith created an experimental ship-mounted weapon, the Null Cannon, able to fracture the very bonds of reality. Now, they hope to undo their work before the cannon is brought to bear. What caused this change of heart? How are you involved?

Have you fought in any wars? If you are an experienced soldier, you might be a Veteran. If you swear vows as a soldier of fortune, you might be a Mercenary. If you favor a particular weapon or tactic, you might follow a path such as Archer, Blademaster, Demolitionist, Gunner, Gunslinger, or Sniper.

Lifeforms

This is a perilous and often inhospitable galaxy, but life finds a way.

Life in the Forge is diverse. Planets are often home to a vast array of creatures, and our starships cruise with spaceborne lifeforms riding their wake. Even animals from our homeworld—carried aboard the Exodus ships—have adapted to live with us in the Forge.

On a scorching, barren planet wracked by massive storms, miners delve beneath the sands to gather valuable ore. But dangerous lifeforms live in the cool places beneath the surface, and several encounters have taken a deadly toll on the miners. Work is at a standstill. How are you involved?

If you have an expertise in lifeforms and planetary environments, you might be a Naturalist. If you are accompanied on your adventures by a native creature, they might be a companion such as a Banshee, Glowcat, Voidglider, Rockhorn, Sprite, or Symbiote.

Precursors

Over eons, a vast number of civilizations rose and fell within the Forge. Today, the folk we call grubs—scavenger crews and audacious explorers—delve into the mysterious monuments and ruins of those ancient beings.

Incomprehensible technologies, inexorable time, and the strange energies of the Forge have corrupted the vaults of the precursors. Despite the perils, grubs scour those places for useful resources and discoveries. But some secrets are best left buried, and many have been lost to the forsaken depths of the vaults.

In the ice rings of a remote world, a precursor vault was discovered by grub scavengers. The team delved into the relic, but never emerged. What is your relationship to the grub crew? Why are you sworn to investigate their fate?

Have you had any notable encounters with precursor vaults, relics, or tech? If you are an expert in ancient lore and obscure facts, you might be a Lore Hunter. If you pick the bones of these forsaken places, you might be a Scavenger.

Horrors

Put enough alcohol in a spacer, and they’ll tell you stories of ghost ships crewed by vengeful undead. It’s nonsense.

Within the Forge, space and time are as mutable and unstable as a flooding river. When reality can't be trusted, we are bound to encounter unsettling phenomenon.

You receive urgent distress calls from a ship stranded in the event horizon of a black hole. The ship itself is broken apart—a shattered hull trailing debris. There are no signs of life. And yet the ghostly messages persist.

Have you experienced any supernatural encounters? If you specialize in battling undead or monstrous forces, you might be a Slayer. If you have a supernatural connection to a spirit, you might be Haunted.