Encyclopedia Galactica - A regularly updated resource for the Thousand Suns roleplaying game by Rogue Games

This sub-section includes links to several different types of adventure resources for use with ''Thousand Suns''.

* [[Biletoj]]

The //Alina// Class is an aging design which is being phased out due to obsolescence. It was intended to perform scouting duties for the Fleet using a, for the time, highly advanced sensor package mounted in an agile platform. It never wholly supplanted the baseline scout in service however. Several decades ago the Fleet decided not to develop a direct replacement for the Class, but rather let the concept lapse. 

By anyone’s standards the //Alina// Class verges on being cramped, even though extra space is allocated for two sensor/electronic warfare operators, over and above the quarters provided for the crew. Despite this, sales of surplus examples to the public at auction are usually brisk as they remain highly valued for their speed. (Note that prior to sale, each ship is stripped of the bulk of its defensive systems, resulting in a DM seldom greater than 3). 

The //Alina// Class is most commonly encountered in the Marches although it can also be found at times operating in Civilized space as well. 

''Class:'' Ultralight

''OM:'' 1 ''DM:'' 6 ''Hull:'' 30

''Move:'' 8 ''Turn:'' 90º ''Crew:'' 4

''Base Cost:'' 30 million$ (new)

''Weapons:'' 2 linked fusion guns

''Damage Control:'' 1

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

Myrmidon, Female, 32
''Homeworld:'' Mjolnir (The Marches, Low Population) 
''Careers:'' Marine (Experienced), Trader (Novice)

''Body:'' 6 ''Dexterity:'' 7 ''Perception:'' 6 ''Presence:'' 5 ''Will:'' 6

''Vitality:'' 30 ''Resolve:'' 30

''Action Points:'' 5

''Hooks:'' Former Marine, Veteran of New Marshall, Tired of Violence, Naïve Trader, Skeptic

''Benefit Points:'' 3

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 4
Bargain 2
Bureaucracy 4
Cultures 1
Defend 4
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 4
Empathy 2
Heavy Weapons 4
Intimidation 3
Language (Mesopotamian Dialect) 2
Languge (Lingua Terra) 3
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 4
Observe 2
Profession (Marine) 4
Profession (Trader) 2
Shoot 7
Socialize 2
Streetwise 2
Survival 5
Tactics 5
Technical Sciences 3
Unarmed Combat 6
Vehicle Operation 2

''Background and Personality:'' Aluz Sherreh is a Myrmidon, a former Imperial Marine, and Marik’s business partner. She’s the muscle of the operation, doing everything from moving crates to fending off bandits. Like Marik, she’s relatively new to the Mesopotamia Cluster, having come to Tiamat III after mustering out at the end of the New Marshall Rebellion. Contrary to many of her fellow Myrmidons, Aluz does her best to keep her violent side in check, preferring wherever possible to talk her way out of a bad spot.

''Created by:'' Jim Stutz

* [[Armor Tactical Computer]]
* [[LCD Camo Mod]]
* [[Tangler Resistant Coating]]

The ATC is designed to promote awareness of what’s going on around the armor wearer via a helmet heads-up display. Its most basic function is to provide a terrain map complete with waypoints and notable geographic features (if there are any). It is also capable of tracking the user’s movements in three dimensions. When linked to a communications system, the ATC provides the location and identity of all similarly equipped friendly forces within range and allows for the exchange of images and data. Last, the computer will fuse data from multiple sources to provide a composite picture of the battlefield. 

''Cost:'' 350$
''Weight:'' 2kg. 

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

A Belter is an asteroid miner, whether working for a megacorporation or independently as a prospector. Early drafts of ''Thousand Suns'' included this Career Package, but it was eliminated, partially due to space considerations and partially due to the belief that the idea of an asteroid miner doesn't make much sense. The meta-setting's economics section  on pages 253-254 assumes that the extraction of resources from stellar bodies is mostly done robotically, for example. However, the Belter is a common character archetype in many Imperial SF stories and settings and should be added to the options available to players. After all, no two ''Thousand Suns'' settings will be the same. Like psionics, the existence of Belters is entirely optional, but the option should nevertheless be there -- and so it is.

''Novice'': Acrobatics 2, Athletics 2, Computers 1, Engineering 2, Observe 2, Piloting 2, Physical Sciences 2, Profession (Belter) 2, Streetwise 2, Technical Sciences 2, Vehicle Operation 2 and 2 additional skills as individual specialties (each at Rank 2)

''Experienced'': Acrobatics 4, Athletics 3, Bureaucracy 2, Computers 3, Engineering 4, Observe 3, Piloting 4, Physical Sciences 4, Profession (Belter) 4, Streetwise 3, Technical Sciences 4, Vehicles Operation 4, and 2 additional skills as individual specialties (each at Rank 4)

''Veteran'': Acrobatics 6, Athletics 4, Bureaucracy 4, Computers 4, Engineering 6, Observe 4, Piloting 5, Physical Sciences 5, Profession (Belter) 6, Streetwise 4, Technical Sciences 6, Vehicle Operation 6, and 2 additional skills as individual specialties (each at Rank 5)

The term Lingua Terra term ''bileto'' literally means "ticket," as in a ticket used to secure passage aboard a passenger starship. Colloquially, the term has come to mean an employment opportunity -- a "meal ticket," so to speak. In ''Thousand Suns'', biletoj are short adventure write-ups that contain multiple variants from which a GM can choose based on his current needs or for which he can roll randomly if he has no obvious preferences. In principle, many biletoj can be re-used if different variants are chosen with only a small amount of which, although some will take more work than others.

* [[Mysterious Passenger]]

A blaster shield is a backpack sized unit capable of automatically nullifying plasma weapon fire. Sensors in the pack and harness detect incoming plasma energy and create a shield calibrated to exactly cancel out the round’s destructive effects. The shield is capable of stopping 150 points of damage before its power cell runs dry; any damage remaining from a partially blocked shot continues unimpeded. 

Some efforts have been made to shrink the technology of the plasma shield to make it less cumbersome, with limited success at higher tech levels. The goal of actually powering the shield off of the energy of the incoming plasma rounds has yet to be realized.

''Armor Value:'' 150 total points
''Weight:'' 4kg
''Cost:'' 2000$

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

The breather mask is intended for use in reasonably benign environments where irritants or a lack of atmospheric pressure prohibit breathing unimpeded. The mask covers the wearer’s entire face and is adjustable so as to insure as close a fit as possible. A simple filter system is proof against most forms of irritating or harmful particulates. A miniature compressor collects and maintains a sufficient volume of breathable gasses when local atmospheric pressure is insufficient to the wearer’s needs. 

The breather mask has its limits in that it is not intended for use in vacuum or extremely low pressure environments. Additionally, it is not capable of filtering out all particulates below a certain size, making it ineffective against some forms of biohazard and military grade incapacitants. 
	
''Cost:'' 35$
''Weight:'' .5kg. (weight negligible while worn)

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

This switch is for campaigns where violence is the preferred solution to life’s problems. Whenever a character undertakes a noteworthy violent action, he immediately regains an Action Point previously spent (if any) or gains an additional one that must be used in the current game session or it is lost. In addition, all successful combat Tests automatically gain an additional degree of success.

Switches are campaign-specific options designed to emulate the focus and tone of certain types of Imperial science fiction. Each switch modifies the rules in small ways and multiple switches can be combined to allow the Game Master to tailor his Thousand Suns campaign to suit the precise vision he has for it. Switches are entirely optional and can be safely ignored by those who don’t want the added complexity. 

GMs are encouraged to use these switches as guidelines in creating their own.
!!Switches
* [[Brutal]]
* [[Devious]]
* [[Grim]]
* [[Melodramatic]]
* [[Money Talks]]
* [[Moral Clarity]]
* [[Suspicious]]
* [[Venal]]

Provided here are a number of new and altered Career Packages for use with ''Thousand Suns''. Those that are wholly new are listed as such, while that are altered versions of existing Career Packages are listed as variants.

* [[Belter]] (New)
* [[Law Enforcer]] (Variant)
* [[Missionary]] (New)
* [[Space Ranger]]

This sub-section provides players and Game Masters alike with a veritable rogues gallery of characters to use in their ''Thousand Suns'' adventures and campaigns.

* [[Non-Player Characters]]
* [[Player Characters]]

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Clarification|Chapter 4: Action|Most humanoid creatures can move up to 10 meters per Round; movement does not count as an Action, but may act as a modifier (e.g., shooting while running)|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Clarification|Range Modifiers and Weapons Tables|"Stated Range" listed in the Weapons Table corresponds to "Short" in the Range Modifiers Table. "Point Blank" = within 3 meters|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Clarification| |The DV for the pulse rifle is 7|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Clarification|Opposed Tests|If both parties succeed, the one who achieves the greater degree of success wins. For the given example, if your character rolls a 3, and the guard rolled a 7, both are under the TN. However, your character rolled 9 under his TN, and the guard only 2. Your character therefore successfully sneaks past the guard.|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Clarification|Escort starship listing|"Rail Guns" should be "Rail Cannons", as listed in Starship Weapons Table on p191|

This website is © 2008  [[Rogue Games, Inc.|http://www.rogue-games.net/]] The Rogue Games logo, "Games so good they sneak up on you.", Colonial Gothic, "Whose side are you on?", Fourth Millennium, Future Imperfect, Thousand Suns, Kitchen Kombat, Encyclopedia Galactica, 12° and their respective logos are TM and © 2008 of Rogue Games Inc.

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Correction|Equipment Cost|The cost of the submunition missile should be 35,000$ (per 10)|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Correction| |The Psionics paragraph should read that psionics is not considered supernatural in Imperial SF.|

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	var h4 = 0xC3D2E1F0;

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Welcome

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It may seem anachronistic but even in a universe where high energy blasters and personal force fields are common features, there’s still a need for skilled hand-to-hand fighting techniques. Technology breaks down, runs out of power or can be confiscated. It might not work in certain environments and when it does it, there are telltale signs which are obvious to all in the form of noise or light. As a result, ancient fighting techniques are still known and taught. Sometimes they are used as a means to foster esprit de corps, build the body and sharpen the mind. In other cases they are the difference between life and death in an unforgiving society.

In order to take advantage of the rules presented here, a character must have specialized in an Unarmed Combat Skill. It doesn’t matter whether that specialization is in karate, judo or some wholly made up martial arts form. It is good practice to characterize the Skill to some extent. For example, a judo-like art will involve throws and blocks as opposed to one consisting of strikes and kicks. Attempts to perform a move which is out of character with the art should carry a penalty of some sort since no one set of techniques is equally effective in all ways. There are always trade-offs of some kind, many of which are dictated by the circumstances under which the art was developed.  

Once the general character of the art is understood, develop move packages . . .

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

This switch is for campaigns where subtlety is to be preferred over violence. Whenever a character undertakes a noteworthy action to avoid violence, he immediately regains on Action Point previously spent (if any) or gains an additional one that must be used in the current game session or it is lost. In addition, all successful social interaction Tests automatically gain an additional degree of success.

No game is perfect and ''Thousand Suns'' is no different. This entry includes a listing of the errors, mistakes, and unclear parts of the rulebook. 

!Sections
* [[Error, Page 11]]
* [[Clarification, Page 16]]
* [[Typo, Page 20]]
* [[Error, Page 40-42]]
* [[Error, Page	97]]
* [[Clarification, Page	112]]
* [[Clarification, Page	114, 140]]
* [[Typo, Page 122]]
* [[Omission, Page 131]]
* [[Clarification, Page 140]]
* [[Omission, Page 157]]
* [[Correction, Page 191]]
* [[Clarification, Page 193]]
* [[Typo, Page 194]]
* [[Omission, Page 194]]
* [[Omission, Page 195]]
* [[Typo, Page 205]]
* [[Omission, Page 209]]
* [[Omission, Page 238]]
* [[Correction, Page 254]]
* [[Typo, Starship Cards A]]
* [[Typo, Starship Cards B]]
!!Download

To download a PDF of this errata, please [[click here|http://www.rogue-games.net/Errata.pdf]].

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Error| |Ignore the column in the Sense Minds table referring to "Target Number."|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Error|Meta-Setting|Paragraph 4: The color coding system was not used in the published rulebook. Please ignore references to it.|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Error|Homeworld Packages|References to "Driving" skill should be "Vehicle Operation"|

''GalactEx'' is in the business of providing scientific inquiry for a price. Although it lacks megacorporate status, its agents and facilities can be found across the Thousand Suns, engaged in planetary and system surveys, biosphere evaluation and archaeological digs. (The last is perhaps what ''GalactEx'' is best known for even though it constitutes the smallest share of the business). More often than not the company will work for a share of whatever it discovers, be it resources, samples of new non-sentient life forms or basic patent rights. Its clientele comes primarily from those businesses and worlds which lack their own sufficiently advanced academic or scientific resources. 

''GalactEx'' is generally well regarded due to the high quality of its work; however it has periodically suffered from accusations of fraud, most often that it has undervalued a subject under study. The company employs personnel possessing a wide range and/or depth of education and experience; it also owns a small fleet of starships, sometimes leasing additional craft at need.

''GalactEx'' is a portmanteau of //galactic// and //exploration//.


''Created by:'' Greg Videll

Slang term of indeterminate origin referring to personnel hired to support Encyclopedia Foundation researchers in the field. Technically called “Facilitators”, they serve as technical support, bodyguards, bush guides, animal handlers, translators and the like. Grad Students have proven especially useful to those scientists and academics that spend much of their time cloistered in labs and classrooms and therefore lack “real world” experience. (This is considered the most likely explanation for the origin of the term). They are also sometimes hired to retrieve researchers who have run afoul of local customs and peoples or otherwise gotten in over their heads. While Grad Students are often thought of as rough and tumble frontier types, they have proven no less useful in more civilized settings such as the Core, serving as legal support and social intermediaries. 

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

This switch is for campaigns where fortune rarely smiles upon the brave. Characters begin the game with no Action Points. Instead, Action Points can only be purchased with XP, as outlined in Chapter 6 of ''Thousand Suns''.

Ground combat armor is the obvious and immediate follow on application of space combat armor. It consists of environmentally sealed heavy body armor with a built-in communications system and heads up display. The suit’s pseudo-musculature effectively doubles the wearer’s natural strength and, in combination with short duration “jump jets”, makes it possible to leap over obstacles several stories high or affect soft landings from a height. An onboard computer linked to the comms system makes it possible to exchange tactical information, including imagery and data, with similarly equipped friendly units. Basic sensors include external microphones and an infra red/low light/thermal camera, both filtered against overload, which are tied into the onboard computer. 

''Armor Value:'' 45 total points
''Weight:'' 25kg (weight negligible while worn)

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

Like most species in the Thousand Suns, the Hen Jaa employ Naval Infantry troops to launch quick assaults both on enemy starships and ground installations. Here are the game statistic for a typical Veteran Hen Jaa Marine:

''Body:'' 7 ''Dexterity:'' 6 ''Perception:'' 6 ''Presence:'' 5 ''Will:'' 6

''Vitality:'' 35 ''Resolve:'' 30

''Species Traits:'' Armor Restriction, Equipment Restriction, Extra Limbs (x2), Hypersenstivity, Scent, Weak Immune System

''Skills''
Acrobatics 4
Athletics 4
Bureaucracy 3
Computers 2
Culture (Hen Jaa) 2
Defend 5
Dodge 5
Driving 2
Intimidation 4
Language (Hen Jaa) 2
Medical Sciences 3
Melee 5
Profession (Marine) 6
Shoot 6
Survival 5
Tactics 6
Technical Sciences 2
Unarmed Combat 6
Vehicle Operation 3

(and one of the following at Rank 6, depending on the role the Marine plays in the game: Gunnery, Heavy Weapons, Piloting (if an officer), Stealth, or Technical Sciences)

''Basic Equipment:'' Space Combat Armor (AV 45), Pulse Rifle (DV 7/90), 20 grenades of varying types, depending on mission

…but the size of the Great Armada was also its greatest weakness. The bulk of the fleet wasn’t even proper warships at all. In order to transport his massive invasion force, Emperor Aditya had commandeered nearly every vessel within a month’s travel of Uhlanga. Some of the ships thus acquired were barely spaceworthy; it’s estimated that fifty such vessels, with crews and soldiers numbering as many as thirty thousand souls, never completed the journey to Gering’s Star. Most of the warships arrived in fairly good order, but the troop carriers were horribly strung out by the journey, some arriving as many as two weeks after the battle of Kobold was over. Even after taking a week to gather her fleet together, Admiral Nokukhanya still estimated she had only three-quarters of the troops necessary to pacify the entire system.

Don Francisco Mondragón, tasked with the defense of Gering’s Star, had his men commandeer every hulk in the shipyards that could be made to fly. Cramming them with extra reactors and then layering their forward hulls with additional armour, he launched these “radiation ships” in small waves at the gathering armada. None, of course, reached the Imperial fleet, but were instead used to blind the Atqiyan ships as they exploded, filling the surrounding space with radiation and junk, allowing Don Francisco’s swift corsairs and frigates to swoop in, get off a few hits, then flee. The armada lost few ships to this tactic, but that was not the point.

When Admiral Nokukhanya finally gave the order to attack, and spread her column into a parabolic wall, Don Francisco countered by grouping his fleet into five smaller groups. It is estimated that the Atqiyan ships-of-the-line had a greater displacement than the entire León fleet by as much as 30%. Again, Don Francisco sent rickety hulls, bleeding radiation and utterly lacking in even the most meager lifesupport systems, at the enemy fleet, aiming for one particular quarter of the edge. Expecting these to be more of the less-than-effective “radiation ships” they’d seen before, Admiral Nokukhanya had her ships in the area retract their sensors behind armour to prevent their being blinded. Thus, they were completely unprepared when the hulks instead jettisoned their armour and spat out thousands of torpedoes. With the Imperial frigate and destroyer screen thus smashed, Don Francisco’s corsairs, frigates, and torpedo boats swept into the Atqiyan formation. “Like tigers loosed amongst cavalry,” Don Matsuo would later write, “we ripped and tore at their bellies, while panic and fear killed more than our fangs.”

Her formation shattered, Admiral Nokukhanya was unable to concentrate her fire properly and her fleet was dismantled piecemeal. Thus was Aditya, Emperor of the Atqiyan Star Empire, Defender of the Sacred River of Light, Maharaja of the Guilleen Horde, and King of Quazi, Mbingu, and Valhalla denied the chance to add the Star Kingdom of León to his vast empire. The Atqiyan Star Empire, reeling from the shock of defeat, needed to replenish its fleet, and swiftly. The promise of the Xibalba Cluster was thus transformed from an unexpected gift to a desperate necessity.

Things were nearly as desperate in the Star Kingdom of León. Atqiyan had lost less than a quarter of its total tonnage in capital ships; León had lost more than half. Both nations threw themselves into a frenzy of shipbuilding. In this, León quickly gained the upper hand. Emperor Aditya took advantage of the situation to redesign his empire’s basic ship-of-the-line. His advisors quickly settled on a bold new design that was a marvel of flexibility. The new galleon-class capital ship included massive storage bays that could be used to ferry troops, equipment, or raw materials within the body of the warship. It was also the largest ship since the days of the Republic to be able to land on a planet’s surface, and perhaps the largest warship ever to do so. (Apparently, nobody questioned the wisdom of putting your ships-of-the-line on a planet’s surface, where they would be unable to maneuver without lifting off first.)

Queen Elisa put the construction of a new fleet into the hands of the victorious Don Francisco. Unlike the Emperor, Don Francisco had little interest in redesigning capital ships. His passion was with the smaller, swifter frigates, corsairs, and corvettes he’d grown up on. Beyond a few improvements in sensors and damage control, the new, Victoria-class dreadnaughts were hardly different at all from the old Castile-class they replaced. While Atqiyan’s shipyards were fallow for nearly three months to allow the Emperor’s court to finalize the new designs, and then underwent refitting themselves to be able to build the new galleons, León’s shipyards were building the new fleet within weeks of the Battle of Kobold. Even more telling, while León’s dreadnaughts displaced only three-quarters the mass of a galleon, the more specialized warships carried more weapons than the versatile galleons.

But it was Don Francisco’s policy of aggressively recruiting privateers that made the greatest difference. Leónese privateers attacked shipyards and smashed incomplete hulls. They captured galleons during their shake-out cruises, allowing Leónese ship builders to study the designs in intimate detail. They raided the helium-3 mining facilities on the many gas giants of the Xibalba cluster, disrupted shipping, and even plundered Imperial orbital stations and colonies on the habitable worlds. They smuggled weapons to the natives of the Xibalban worlds, and supplied orbital support to their revolutions. They disrupted Imperial attempts to smash or capture the tenuous footholds León had in the cluster. And it was the privateers and other, non-aligned freebooters who preyed Xibalba’s spaceways who would make the bulk of the discoveries about Xibalba’s mysterious past.

That there had been an ancient, starfaring race living in the Xibalba cluster at some point was undeniable. Nearly ever inhabitable world in the cluster showed some signs of terraforming, and each supported a common collection of plants and animals. The Haanas, a sentient race of warm-blooded, fog-like amphibians, were found on nearly all of the inhabitable words of the cluster, but had only achieved stone or iron-age technology on most, and hadn’t quite mastered atomic energy on even the most advanced of their worlds. Most assumed that the ancestors of the Haanas had been the ones to do the terraforming, but there were disturbing signs that said otherwise, such as ruins that appeared ill-suited for habitation by humanoid lifeforms such as humans or the Haanas. And if the Haanas had, in fact, fallen from greatness, they’d fallen a very, very long way. The asteroids of three of the Xibalba systems included remnants of what were clearly ringworlds. Some even speculated that the large number of gas giants producing exotic elements in their atmospheres could only be explained by an engineering project of unimaginable proportions, something beyond even the abilities of the Republic at its height. And most disturbing of all to some, why did the natives on every single one of their worlds, no matter what languages were spoken locally, call themselves “Haanas”, a word meaning “Their Cattle”? In the shadow of ancient powers that dwarfed both to the size of ant hills, the Empire of Atqiyan and the Kingdom of León struggled for control of the Xibalba cluster.

''Contributor:'' J. Brian Murphy

The knuckle punch was originally developed as a tool, a ring mounted force blade used to punch holes in metal or stone. By creating a wearable tool, the hands could be left free for other uses. Of course it was only a matter of time before it was put to use as a weapon and then rapidly outlawed, or at least heavily regulated, as such.

The knuckle punch looks like an outsized piece of jewelry with a distinctive concave depression on one side and a number of small contact points on the other. When the contacts are touched in the proper sequence, the punch is armed. Touching the trigger contact causes a one centimeter long, 300 millimeter wide force field “blade” to be momentarily projected. The blade is capable of punching through an Armor Value of 8 and has a base damage of 4. The power cell in a knuckle punch commonly contains enough energy for three to five uses. Some can be modified to enable the blade to remain on but this drains the punch of energy in less than half a second. The price of a punch tends to vary, with the average cost being around 1000$.

Inspiration for the knuckle punch came from Fred Saberhagen’s book, ''Rogue Berserker''.

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 38
''Homeworld:'' [[Meridian]] (Upper class, Core) 
''Careers:'' Aristocrat (Novice), Trader (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Owner and captain of "Uncertain Prince"

''Body:'' 5 ''Dexterity:'' 5 ''Perception:'' 7 ''Presence:'' 7 ''Will:'' 9

''Vitality:'' 30 ''Resolve:'' 40

''Action Points:'' 5
''Hooks:'' Risk Taker, Silver Spoon, Fall from Grace, The Future Lies in the Marches, Both Sides Against the Middle

''Benefit Points:'' 3 (at least one of which must be spent on the mortgage on his starship)

''Skills:''
Bargain 5
Bureaucracy 6
Computers 2
Cultures (Terran) 4
Culture (Hen Jaa) 3
Diplomacy 8
Empathy 6
Gaming 2
Intimidation 2
Language (Lingua Terra) 4
Language (Hen Jaa) 4
Observe 6
Piloting 5
Profession (Trader) 4
Shoot 3
Socialize 6
Social Sciences (Archeology) 2
Streetwise 3
Technical Sciences 4

''Background and Personality:'' Kventino Navare was born into a declining aristocratic family on [[Meridian]] (whether the family is titled or not depends on whether your version of the meta-setting includes nobility). Though he wanted for nothing in his youth, it soon became clear to him that the Navare's fortune was rapidly disappearing, because of poor management by Kventino's parents and grandparents, who'd failed to adapt to the changes that occurred in Terran society in the wake of the [[Civil War]]. By the time he reached the age of majority, Kventino's family was effectively destitute and the young man decided to leave the Core and seek his fortune in the Marches. He signed on to a merchant crew as a deckhand and headed into an unknown future. Over the course of many years traveling from world to world along the border with the Hen Jaa Hegemony, Kventino established himself as a good pilot and an even better trader. He acquired just enough money to purchase an antiquated fast freighter, which he christened "Uncertain Prince." He now travels the jumplines of the Marches, hoping to turn enough sols to pay off the mortgage on his starship and perhaps one day return to the Core to reclaim his family heritage.

This is a variant of the paint-on LCD universal equipment mod but specifically designed for use as camouflage on armor. This mod imparts a TN-2 penalty to Tests when attempting to spot the armor wearer in the visible light spectrum only. Note that damage to the surface of the armor will degrade, if not destroy, the LCD matrix in the effected area. 

''Cost Modifier:'' +20%

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

For whatever reason, the Law Enforcer Career Package on page 50 of ''Thousand Suns'' does not include the Profession (Law Enforcer) skill. By design, Career Packages are supposed to include this useful catch-all skill, but the Law Enforcer doesn't. To rectify this, here is an alternate take on the Law Enforcer, which shifts a few points around to make room for the Profession skill.

''Novice'': Athletics 1, Bargain 1, Bureaucracy 1, Defend 2, Dodge 2, Diplomacy 1, Empathy 2, Intimidation 2, Investigation 2, Observe 2, Profession (Law Enforcer) 2, Shoot 2, Streetwise 1, Tactics 1, Unarmed Combat 2, Vehicle Operation 1

''Experienced'': Athletics 2, Bargain 2, Bureaucracy 2, Defend 4, Dodge 4, Empathy 4, Intimidation 3, Investigation 4, Observe 4, Profession (Law Enforcer) 4, Shoot 4, Streetwise 3, Tactics 3, Unarmed Combat 4, Vehicle Operation 3.

''Veteran'': Athletics 3, Bargain 3, Bureaucracy 3, Defend 6, Dodge 4, Diplomacy 3, Empathy 6, Intimidation 4, Investigation 6, Observe 6, Profession (Law Enforcer) 5, Shoot 5, Streetwise 4, Tactics 3, Unarmed Combat 5, Vehicle Operation 4.

/***
|''Name:''|LegacyStrikeThroughPlugin|
|''Description:''|Support for legacy (pre 2.1) strike through formatting|
|''Version:''|1.0.2|
|''Date:''|Jul 21, 2006|
|''Source:''|http://www.tiddlywiki.com/#LegacyStrikeThroughPlugin|
|''Author:''|MartinBudden (mjbudden (at) gmail (dot) com)|
|''License:''|[[BSD open source license]]|
|''CoreVersion:''|2.1.0|
***/

//{{{
// Ensure that the LegacyStrikeThrough Plugin is only installed once.
if(!version.extensions.LegacyStrikeThroughPlugin) {
version.extensions.LegacyStrikeThroughPlugin = {installed:true};

config.formatters.push(
{
	name: "legacyStrikeByChar",
	match: "==",
	termRegExp: /(==)/mg,
	element: "strike",
	handler: config.formatterHelpers.createElementAndWikify
});

} //# end of "install only once"
//}}}

The //Lehnik// Class was designed for general patrol and inspection duties and is currently in use by the State. It features slightly larger living spaces than many comparable starships due to a requirement to remain on station for extended periods of time. In addition to the crew, the Class can embark a squad of eight Naval Infantry for use in boarding operations. A launch is also carried for detached duty assignments. 

//Lehnik// Class ships are named after enlisted Fleet personnel who distinguished themselves in service to the State. Examples can be encountered across the //Thousand Suns//. 

''Class:'' Light

''OM:'' 4 ''DM:'' 2 ''Hull:'' 80

''Move:'' 7 ''Turn:'' 135º ''Crew:'' 16

''Base Cost:'' 70 million$

''Weapons:'' 2 linked particle beams, 4 linked submunition missiles

''Damage Control:'' 3

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

''Profile:'' Colony
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Plains
''Climate:'' Temperate
''Atmosphere:'' Standard
''Hydrographics:'' Moderate
''Gravity:'' Standard

''Native Sapients:'' None
''Government:'' Multiple States
''Population:'' One million
''Tech Level:'' Information Age (nearing Stellar)

Longview is a colony world located in the Marches which was settled about a century ago. The planet takes its name from its predominantly flat terrain. The two principal economic activities on planet are ranching and resource exploitation. The former is primarily the province of family run businesses while the latter is dominated mostly by off world interests. Despite the relative lack of population, competition for water and range land has become acute over the last 20 years.

Government, where it exists, is centered on the local level. Such parochialism contributed several years ago to growing tensions between population centers as they lacked a clearly defined mechanism for resolving conflicts over access to natural resources. These tensions escalated to the point of sporadic armed conflicts along ill defined border regions. A movement on planet, aided by the State, worked to pull together a coalition government as a means to quell the violence and create a standard for conflict resolution. The so called “Unity Government” displayed great promise but never truly overcame the internal forces seeking to push it apart. It lasted but three years before Longview reverted to its previous balkanized nature, a state which remains today. Continued work by the State however has managed to keep tensions from escalating to their pre-Unity levels. (As a side note, an investigation by the State into the possible role off world resource firms may have played in the failure of the government found no proof of involvement, either positive or negative).

Longview is not terribly sophisticated from a technological standpoint, at least in galactic terms, but it is improving. In particular, an effort has been made of late to entice the larger corporations to base more automated factories on planet. There are rumors that a surge in off planet investment may be in the offing although to date no strong trend in this direction has developed.

The world is generally considered to be pleasant in terms of climate and weather. While no native sapient life exists there is a notable range of flora and fauna. Unfortunately for the ranchers of Longview, some of the native lifeforms are little more than vermin, requiring constant attention lest they endanger the herds.

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

[[Welcome]]
[[Characters]]
[[Rules]]
[[Technology]]
[[Setting Design]]
[[Meta-Setting]]
[[Species]]
[[Adventures]]
[[Errata]]
[[Submissions]]

[[Thousand Suns|http://12-degrees.net/thousand-suns//]]

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[[Copyright Information]]^^

Terran, Male, 34
''Homeworld:'' Tauros Prime (The Marches, High Population) 
''Careers:'' Navy (Novice), Trader (Experienced)

''Body:'' 5 ''Dexterity:'' 7 ''Perception:'' 7 ''Presence:'' 6 ''Will:'' 6

''Vitality:'' 28 ''Resolve:'' 33

''Action Points:'' 5

''Hooks:'' Former Navy Steersman, Owes on His Ship, Mesopotamian Non-native, Atheist, Independent Trader

''Benefit Points:'' 3 (at least one of which must be spent on the mortgage on his starship)

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 2
Athletics 2
Bargain 4
Computers 4
Bureaucracy 6
Cultures 3
Defend 1
Diplomacy 5
Dodge 2
Empathy 4
Engineering 5
Language (Lingua Terra) 6
Language (Mesopotamian Dialect) 2
Medical Sciences 1
Melee 1
Observe 4
Piloting 7
Profession (Navy) 2
Profession (Trader) 4
Shoot 4
Socialize 4
Tactics 2
Unarmed Combat 1
Vehicle Operation 3

''Background and Personality:'' After completing his primary education on his homeworld of Tauros Prime, Marik served a short stint in the Imperial Navy, saving his pay to eventually purchase a starship, the Bird of Paradise, and set up shop as a short-range trader. He operates out of Tiamat III with his business partner Aluz Sherreh, running basic supplies and scientific gear for the outposts in the Mesopotamia Cluster that are studying the ruins there. In his time in the Cluster, he’s taken a dislike to the Predecessor cultists who have scattered themselves across several worlds, a situation exacerbated by the fact that he’s an outspoken atheist to begin with.

''Created by:'' Jim Stutz

This team may be encountered just about anywhere there are Marines, a bar, and a need for military assistance.

!!GROUP NOTES

This squad of Marines are enjoying some shore leave after a short term combat assignment. They are not looking for trouble, but will certainly not shy away if presented in the most subtle form. They are basically good, but have a collectively short temper. They are usually able to do any required damage and still dodge the local authorities. As long as there are no deaths or major destruction of property, superiors including the senior NCO and officers, will tend to look the other way.

This squad is a heavy weapons squad and performs artillery forward observation. This special function is only for high grade, independent marines. They are usually one of the first teams down and this job calls for higher grade than ordinary for a fire team. They will be typically equipped with Pulse Rifles, Power Backpacks, and Medium Combat Armor.

!!REFEREE NOTES

This squad is professional and of moderately high quality. They use their combat skills both to settle scores, and to escape the wrath of local law enforcement and superiors. They should not be allowed to get away with murder or major destruction of property, but a few broken bones, glasses, and tables and chairs would not cause this group to serve any more than extra duty when back on board ship.

!!INDIVIDUAL NOTES'

!!!MARINE GUNNY

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Female
''Age:'' 43 ''Height:'' 1.90 m ''Weight:'' 47 kg
''Homeworld:'' The Marches, High Population
''Careers:'' Marine (Veteran)
''Rank:'' Gunnery Petty Officer

''Body:'' 12 ''Dexterity:'' 7 ''Perception:'' 8 ''Presence:'' 6 ''Will:'' 8

''Vitality:'' 50 ''Resolve:'' 40

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 5
Bureaucracy 3
Computers 3
Defend 5
Dodge 5
Intimidation 4
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 4
Melee 6
Non-native Language 2
Profession (Marine) 6
Shoot 7
Stealth 7
Survival 6
Tactics 7
Technical Sciences (Demolitions) 4
Unarmed Combat 6
Vehicle Operation 3

She's an excellent leader for a fire team that needs to operate independently. She also allows her fireteam to take the initiative when required in the field. However, she will not do well in a job where she has close and/or constant contact with her superiors. It's not that she doesn't like officers, it's just that she's so used to being independent on the battlefield that she wouldn't work well in the traditional unit formation. In fact, she's already thinking about retiring and seeking a position with a mercenary unit where she can maintain her independence.

!!!MARINE 1

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male
''Age:'' 33 ''Height:'' 1.90 m ''Weight:'' 54 kg
''Homeworld:'' Wildspace (Low Tech)
''Careers:'' Marine (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Squad Petty Officer

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 6
Brawl 2
Bureaucracy 2
Defend 4
Dodge 6
Intimidation 3
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 3
Melee 5
Profession (Marine) 4
Shoot 4
Survival 5
Tactics 4
Technical Sciences (Electronics) 7
Unarmed Combat 6
Vehicle Operation 2

This marine is the main observer on the team. Although all in the squad are trained observers, this is his main job. He is also very good at basic survival skills and even does well without modern equipment. He will use his laser when he must use, but is good at hand-to-hand and will usually allow the shooters to do their job while he makes sure he’s in position for his next spot.

!!!MARINE 2

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male
''Age:'' 30 ''Height:'' 1.75m ''Weight:'' 51 kg
''Homeworld:'' Civilized
''Careers:'' Marine (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Squad Petty Officer

''Body:'' 11 ''Dexterity:'' 10 ''Perception:'' 9 ''Presence:'' 9 ''Will:'' 10

''Vitality:'' 53 ''Resolve:'' 48

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 2
Computers 6
Defend 4
Dodge 4
Intimidation 3
Language (Lingua Terra) 3
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 4
Profession (Marine) 4
Shoot 7
Shoot (Laser Sniper Rifle) 5
Social Sciences (History) 3
Survival 3
Tactics 4
Unarmed Combat 4
Vehicle Operation 4

This marine is the team sniper and is also skilled in combat survival and demolitions. He is also the geek of the group and is the butt of much good natured ribbing from his squad mates. Although he’s been to college and has the hands of a surgeon, he just loves being a sniper. In addition, he and his spotter are nearly inseparable.

!!!MARINE 3

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male
''Age:'' 27 ''Height:'' 1.75m ''Weight:'' 54 kg
''Homeworld:'' The Marches (High Population)
''Careers:'' Marine (Novice)
''Rank:'' Leading Armsman

''Body:'' 9 ''Dexterity:'' 9 ''Perception:'' 9 ''Presence:'' 8 ''Will:'' 9

''Vitality:'' 45 ''Resolve:'' 45

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 4
Bureaucracy 1
Computers 2
Defend 2
Dodge 4
Intimidation 1
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 1
Melee 2
Non-native Language 1
Profession (Marine) 2
Shoot 2
Stealth 6
Survival 1
Tactics 1
Technical Sciences (Demolitions) 4
Unarmed Combat 3
Vehicle Operation 1

This marine just loves blowing things up. He can also move through areas making little sound and is usually the designated point person of the squad when moving around. He’s not a terribly great shooter, as Marines go, but his stealth and demolition expertise make him a valuable squad member.

!!!MARINE 4

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Female
''Age:'' 30 ''Height:'' 1.70m ''Weight:'' 48 kg
''Homeworld:'' The Marches (High Population)
''Careers:'' Marine (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Squad Petty Officer

''Body:'' 10 ''Dexterity:'' 8 ''Perception:'' 11 ''Presence:'' 11 ''Will:'' 10

''Vitality:'' 50 ''Resolve:'' 53

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 4
Computers 2
Defend 4
Dodge 4
Intimidation 3
Language (Lingua Terra) 4
Non-native Language 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 5
Profession (Marine) 6
Shoot 5
Survival 3
Tactics 5
Technical Sciences 6
Unarmed Combat 5
Vehicle Operation 2

She's the other brain of this squad, although not as ribbed due to her skills in combat engineering. Her squad mates respect her judgement and skills, particularly in demolition placement. She also may take a turn at point on longer hikes and doesn't give up easily. When she was first assigned to the squad, some of the others tested her, but she acquitted herself well in unarmed combat as well as her specialty. She hasn't let the team down yet, and intends to keep it that way. She has a bright future in the Marines and has been offered the opportunity to attend Officer's Training School. She's still thinking about it, but knows that if she does, her days as a demolition engineer will be numbered.

Unknown to her, her sergeant and senior officers have already decided that her next assignment will be to OTS. Pending her completion of that and some other specialized training, she will become the leader of a special operations unit. This spells a bright future for a smart girl from a poor family.

''Created by:'' Jim Ujcik

As described on page 118 of the ''Thousand Suns'' rulebook, melee weapons deal damage based on the degrees of success achieved by the attacker using them, to which is added the attacker's Melee skill Rank. Used as written, this rule does not distinguish between weapons that rely on brute force to do their damage (such as clubs or axes) and those that rely on finesse (such as monoblades and thrown daggers). As an option, the Game Master could allow melee damage to be modified by Melee skill Rank only in the case of weapons that rely on finesse, while those that rely on brute force substitute the attacker's Body Rank instead of Melee. This optional rule benefits high Body characters who use certain types of weapons and is recommended where the distinctions between melee weapons are important to the feel of the campaign or setting.

''Contributor:'' Dan Davenport

This switch is for campaigns in which the characters’ backgrounds drive much of the action. Characters begin the game with a large number of Hooks than usual (up to 10, at the GM’s discretion) and the acquisition of new Hooks takes half the usual XP cost.

''Profile:'' Adminstration
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Urban
''Climate:'' Temperate
''Atmosphere:'' Standard
''Hydrographics:'' Moderate
''Gravity:'' Standard

''Native Sapients:'' None
''Government:'' Representative Democracy
''Population:'' 90 billion
''Tech Level:'' Interstellar

Meridian is the central system of the Thousand Suns, the hub around which all of civilized space revolves. A true world-city, most of its surface is covered with durasteel buildings and other structures, some of them kilometers tall, although none surpasses the Capitol, where both chambers of the Concordium deliberate when in session. Most travel on Meridian is done via air, whether grav car, aerodyne, or other more exotic forms of transportation. Far below the below the spires lies the Strato, the true surface of the planet—a vibrant, riotous place where species and cultures from across the Thousand Suns mingle, brawl, and wheel and deal. Meridian is a diverse, almost timeless place, strangely insulated from affairs in the wider galaxy. Even at the height of the Civil War, as rebel and loyalist fleets engaged one another throughout Center Sector, the Opera House continued to draw the rich and the powerful, while gravball teams contended in the Arena, and megacorporations plotted how best to sell their goods to emerging markets in the marches. Not much has changed in the generation since the end of the war and, barring some unforeseen turn of events, not much is likely to do so.

In the federal option, Meridian is home to the Presidential Palace, where the Federation president lives and works. The Palace is a grav sphere with several aeroports and its own traffic control system, owing to the intense security under which the president lives. Prior to the Civil War, the Palace was accessible to the public and guided tours were permitted. This is no longer the case, although there have been calls, both from the public and from delegates to the Concordium, to revert to the older practice as a testament to the "return to normalcy." Thus far, these pleas have met with no action and the only regular visitors to the Palace aside from legislators and foreign dignitaries are megacorp officials.

In the imperial option, the emperor is forbidden by law and tradition to step foot on Meridian, instead making his home a jumpline away on Pinnacle/Center. While this has sometimes made coordination between the Throne and the Concordium difficult, no one has ever seriously suggested changing the practice, lest the independence of the latter be called into question. The emperor instead relies on his own delegates to the legislature, who speak on his behalf on important matters.

This sub-section describes a wide variety of optional elements designed to work with the meta-setting described in Chapter 7 of the ''Thousand Suns'' rulebook. 

* [[The Head of State]]
* [[History]]
* [[Planets]]
* [[Organizations]]
* [[The State]]
* [[Visions of the Thousand Suns]]

The ''Thousand Suns'' rulebook very rarely mentions religion or religious organizations, at least among Terrans. That's due, at least in part, because Imperial SF writers generally treat religion either as a relic of the past and thus of no concern to the futures they describe or as an object of mockery and derision. Many writers of Imperial SF were atheists or at least skeptics about religion, so this should come as no surprise. There are exceptions, of course, and writers like Poul Anderson, even though he was not a believer himself, was extremely interested in religion and religious belief. Anderson's stories frequently include positive and well-rounded characters whose outlooks were formed by their religious beliefs.

Consequently, the ''Thousand Suns'' rulebook did not include any Career Packages pertaining to religion and I think that's an oversight. Presented here is one such package -- the Missionary -- which describes a representative of a religion sent off to preach the teachings of his faith to individuals who have never heard them, in the hope of convincing them to adopt them as their own.

''Novice'': Perception +1, Presence +1, Culture 2, Diplomacy 3, Empathy 2, Language 2, Performance 3, Profession (Clergy) 2, Socialize 2, Social Sciences 3, and 2 additional skills as individual specialties (each at Rank 1)

''Experienced'': Perception +1, Presence +2, Culture 4, Diplomacy 5, Empathy 4, Language 4, Performance 5, Profession (Clergy) 4, Socialize 4, Social Sciences 5, and 3 additional skills as individual specialties (each at Rank 3) 

''Veteran'': Peception +2, Presence +2, Culture 6, Diplomacy 7, Empathy 6, Language 6, Performance 7, Profession (Clergy) 6, Socialize 6, Social Sciences 7, and 3 additional skills as individual specialties (each at Rank 5)

This switch is designed for GMs who wish to begin the game with greater access to starships and other equipment. All characters begin the game with a greater multiple of starting Benefit Points they would normally receive according to the guidelines in Chapter 2 of the ''Thousand Suns'' rulebook (two or three times is probably best, but the GM is free to choose higher if he so desires).

This switch is for campaigns where “black and white” morality is strong and the boundaries between good and evil clear. Using this switch, all characters must choose a moral “alignment,” such as the Light Side vs. the Dark Side, etc. When taking an action (whether direct or indirect) intended to foil the plans of a character of the opposing alignment, characters gain an additional degree of success if their Test succeeds. In addition, whenever a character undertakes a noteworthy action in accordance with his alignment, he immediately regains one Action Point previously spent (if any) or gains an additional one that must be used in the current game session or it is lost.

''This bileto assumes the characters have a starship of their own.''

The characters are contacted by an individual who refuses to give his name, saying only that he is someone who, if his identity were to become widely known, it would unnecessarily complicate his intended journey to several worlds in this sector of space. For this reason, he wishes to avoid traveling aboard commercial star liners and would like to book passage aboard the character's starship. He is willing to pay 1000$ a week (paid upfront) if the characters will take him to four different worlds along the same jumpline as the one where he appraoches the characters. He asks that, while traveling aboard ship, he not be disturbed and, when visiting each of the four worlds on his itinerary, the characters allow him to undertake his own business without interference or questioning. If the characters agree to his terms he would like to leave for the first leg of his journey as soon as possible.

There are several possible explanation for the mysterious passenger's behavior. Roll 1D12 to determine which is the case here:

''1'' - The passenger is a disgraced government official whose actions while in office resulted in the deaths of several people under his authority. He is traveling to the homeworlds of each of the people who died because of his misconduct to seek the forgiveness of their families.
''2'' - The passenger is the son of a powerful aristocrat in the sector who simply wishes to engage in sightseeing on nearby worlds without being harassed by the media.
''3'' - As 2, except that the passenger is a philandering playboy traveling to buy off the families of former paramours whom he jilted and who are now threatening to expose his conduct to the media.
''4'' - As 2, except the passenger has become a secret devotee of a religious sect that is either outlawed or considered scandalous by the sector's authorities. He is traveling to sites holy to his faith but wishes to ensure no one knows of his connection to the faith.
''5'' - The passenger is a journalist doing a piece on traveling the sector by means other than commercial space lines. The characters' conduct, both good and bad, will eventually be transmitted to many worlds in the sector once his piece is completed.
''6'' - The passenger is actually a criminal on the run from sector authorities. The four worlds he wishes to visit are all home to various contacts he has and home he hopes might shelter him from pursuit. He will jump ship as soon as he finds a world where he can lie low safely.
''7'' - As 6, except that the passenger is being followed by sector authorities. who will attempt to seize him as soon as he lands on the first world on his itinerary. These authorities show little regard for the characters and may threaten them with legal prosecution if they do not cooperate with them.
''8'' - As 7, except the passenger is being followed by former compatriots in a criminal organization.
''9'' - The passenger is an assassin traveling incognito on missions to eliminate one individual on each world he visits.
''10'' - The passenger is crackpot scientist who wishes to confirm his implausible theories by traveling to four worlds where he can collect samples he believes vital to vindicating himself before the scientific community.
''11'' - The passenger is a private courier delivering sensitive information.
''12'' -- As 11, except that the passenger is pursued by agents who wish to steal the information he is delivering.

This group may be encountered near a Naval Base.

!!GROUP NOTES

This group is usually found together in one of the moderate priced bars or shopping areas. They're not cheap, but they also aren't independently wealthy like the nobility, well, at least not all of them. The group has a great comradery and they've been together on their ship for the last 3 years. They have an outstanding working relationship and it transfers into their off-ship activities. They certainly don't spend every waking moment together, but they enjoy the company and ability to relax together in their off time. Even though they spend considerable time during duty together, they are professionals, so they enjoy the off duty time around time for non-duty activities. At times, the younger two will not be along with the group, the older five being the core group, but it's usually because the younger ones want to pursue a more rigorous activity rather than the elders not wanting the around.

They are rarely encountered off ship in uniform. This allows them to be more informal than one might expect from professional Naval Officers. This is allowed both due to their professionalism on the ship and their ability to keep their informal side separate from their official side.
Although they are casual when off the ship, do not mistake the fact that they are still a team and are prepared to defend themselves, both verbally and physically. They have been known to defend verbal slurs to their ship and the Navy in general, although it hasn't gotten out of hand or required Shore Police response. All in all, they're a relatively laid back and conservative group.

!!REFEREE NOTES

This group can be played like the ''Star Trek Enterprise'' crew in the “Trouble with Tribbles” episode. Although not quite as quick to physical action, a similar range of characters is presented. They may also be played as just about any ship's crew that the referee may have had from Real World (tm) experiences. The referee is free to adjust the attitudes of the characters to account for whether they are encountered at a friendly (to the Imperium) or more neutral area. This group is from a cruiser, usually on an independent or diplomatic type mission, without escort, so the crew is used to an independent atmosphere without any backup.

The group may be encountered as only 2 or 3 of the total, but they are usually not far or on the way to meeting up with the rest. This can present some interesting situations, as the younger ones may be targeted by rogues, thieves, or con men, but the older crewman meet up just as the con or thief thinks he's bagged his prey. This can then lead to some sort of physical confrontation and may or may not involve shore patrol or even other crewman or Imperial Naval personnel stepping in to help out.

!!INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Each individual has an entry with specific notes about him/her.

!!!EXECUTIVE OFFICER

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 43
''Height:'' 1.55m ''Weight:'' 49 kg
''Homeworld:'' Core World, Middle Class
''Careers:'' Navy (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Commander

''Body:'' 7 ''Dexterity:'' 8 ''Perception:'' 9 ''Presence:'' 10 ''Will:'' 11

''Vitality:'' 45 ''Resolve:'' 50

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 5
Computers 6
Cultures (Terran) 2
Defend 3
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 3
Gunnery 4

Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 2
Piloting 4
Profession (Navy) 4
Shoot 3
Tactics 3
Technical Sciences 4
Unarmed Combat 3
Vehicle Operations 2

She's a good solid officer in line for her own ship in another year or two. She's not the instigator of this group, but fell in more due to age and experience commonality than anything else. However, she is the titular head and the spokesman in more formal circumstances. She becomes the group conscience when trouble is near.

She's extremely well respected by the other officers in the group and on the ship as a whole. Strict yet personable, she also has the social standing to help her continue her Naval career. She earned high award for valor while serving as an XO on a light cruiser. Her current assignment as XO on a heavy cruiser is seen as a stepping stone to a captaincy on another heavy cruiser or strike cruiser. It's also leading up to the potential of a captaincy on a battleship and potential flag rank.

!!!CHIEF GUNNERY OFFICER

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 40
''Height:'' 1.75m ''Weight:'' 54 kg
''Homeworld:'' Core World, Lower Class
''Careers:'' Navy (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Lieutenant Commander

''Body:'' 8 ''Dexterity:'' 11 ''Perception:'' 10 ''Presence:'' 7 ''Will:'' 11
''Vitality:'' 48 ''Resolve:'' 53

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 5
Computers 6
Defend 3
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 3
Gunnery 4
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 2
Profession (Navy) 4
Shoot 3
Space Sciences (Astrography) 4
Streetwise 2
Tactics 3
Technical Sciences 4
Unarmed Combat 3

This officer has a solid background and the highest capability in his career field. He enjoys the occasional amateur card game, although he depends more on luck than skill or experience. He earned a high award for valor in the same battle as the XO, although they were on different ships.
He started as an gunnery technician, but worked his way up quickly and won a spot to Officer's Training School. Upon completion, he has maintained a steady promotion rate and increase of skills as a gunner and leader.

!!!CHIEF ENGINEER

''Species:''Terran ''Gender:'' Female ''Age: 42''
''Height:'' 1.7m ''Weight:'' 46 kg
''Homeworld:'' Core World, Middle Class
''Careers:'' Navy (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Commander

''Body:'' 9 ''Dexterity:'' 8 ''Perception:'' 11 ''Presence:'' 8 ''Will:'' 12
''Vitality:'' 53 ''Resolve:'' 58

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 5
Computers 6
Cultures (Terran) 2
Defend 3
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 3
Engineering 4
Jump Theory 4
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 2
Profession (Navy) 4
Shoot 3
Tactics 3
Technical Sciences 4
Unarmed Combat 3
Vehicle Operations 2

One of the more social members of this group and will defend her ship and the Navy when she hears something that is not complimentary. Thin and good looking, she uses these traits to make friends easily, although she's smart enough to know exactly what she wants and doesn't enter into frivolous relationships.

!!!BRIDGE OFFICER 1

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 43
''Height:'' 2m ''Weight:'' 56 kg
''Homeworld:'' Marches, Low Population
''Careers:'' Navy (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Lieutenant

''Body:'' 8 ''Dexterity:'' 11 ''Perception:'' 5 ''Presence:'' 6 ''Will:'' 5
''Vitality:'' 33 ''Resolve:'' 25

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 1
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 3
Computers 4
Defend 3
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 3
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 2
Non-native Language 2
Profession (Navy) 4
Shoot 3
Survival 2
Tactics 3
Technical Sciences 5

Unarmed Combat 3
Space Sciences (Astrogation) 4
Space Sciences (Astrography) 4

He's the troublemaker of the group, relatively speaking. He has a gambling problem and along with a drinking problem that is now under control, has led to a stagnant, although competent, career. He'll be the one to “overhear” disparaging comments in a bar and has been known to defend his ship and mates with whatever it takes. He's extremely loyal, especially to those who will loan him money when he gets down on his luck.
If he's not with the group, he'll be looking for or participating in some type of gambling. He knows when the stakes are too high, but is always on the edge and usually loses just enough to be able to walk away. He's a sucker for “double or nothing” but doesn't go deep enough that he's worth chasing more than a couple of blocks down the hall or street.

His career started out well, but took a turn for the worse after completing Officer's Training School. Although not cashiered because his commanding officer's realized his sensor and communication skills were of value to the ship and the Navy. But he was stalled as an Ensign for nearly nine years due to numerous incidents involving alcohol, gambling, and brawling.

Now that he's got six terms in, his career is not going to progress and he's maxed out his abilities to continue to improve his skills. He's determined to make this cruise his last with the Navy. He plans to retire and sell his skills to the highest bidder, even though that bidder may not be as legitimate as the Navy.

!!!BRIDGE OFFICER 2

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 38
''Height:'' 1.80m ''Weight:'' 51 kg
''Homeworld:'' Wilds, High-Tech
''Careers:'' Navy (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Lieutenant

''Body:'' 9 ''Dexterity:'' 9 ''Perception:'' 10 ''Presence:'' 9 ''Will:'' 10
''Vitality:'' 48 ''Resolve:'' 50

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 3
Computers 6
Culture (Native) 2
Defend 3
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 3
Language (Native) 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 2
Piloting 4
Profession (Navy) 4
Shoot 3
Space Sciences (Astrogation) 4
Tactics 3
Technical Sciences 6
Unarmed Combat 3
Vehicle Operations 2

Commissioned through OTC, this officer has had a mediocre career and will probably retire within the next term. He's more of a lucky hacker rather than a highly qualified technician. While his performance is fine, he's pretty much biding his time until retirement and then will hit the starports looking for a job with a merchant vessel.

!!!BRIDGE OFFICER 3

''Species: ''Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 36
''Height:'' 1.65m ''Weight:'' 55 kg
''Homeworld:'' Civilized
''Careers:'' Navy (Experienced)
''Rank:'' Lieutenant

''Body:'' 10 ''Dexterity:'' 4 ''Perception:'' 7 ''Presence:'' 6 ''Will:'' 8
''Vitality:'' 45 ''Resolve:'' 50

''Skills:''
Acrobatics 3
Athletics 3
Bureaucracy 3
Computers 6
Computer Science 2
Culture (Terran) 2
Defend 3
Diplomacy 2
Dodge 3
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Medical Sciences 2
Melee 2
Piloting 4
Profession (Navy) 4
Shoot 3
Space Sciences (Astrogation) 4
Tactics 3
Technical Sciences 4
Unarmed Combat 3
Vehicle Operations 4

This officer is on his way up with a bright future ahead. One of the potential situations is that the group is celebrating his promotion to Lieutenant Commander and especially that he is young for that rank. Of course, that would probably mean that he'll also be transferring off ship
It would also seem likely that his friendship with the XO would lead to them serving together again at some time in the future.

''Created by:'' Jim Ujcik

Neuronic Whip: A favorite among Law Enforcers and Wildspace slavers, the Neuronic Whip (also known as an "Agonizer") is a half-meter long, baton-like weapon that discharges a tightly focused, magnetic hyperpulse that induces intense pain upon the target's nervous system. It was developed by Synaptix Interstellar, and the Whip's remarkable sales propelled the company from being a minor player in the biomedical engineering field to a leader in the public safety industry.

Despite its initial reputation as non-lethal in nature, early models of the Neuronic Whip were easily misused or abused, leading to numerous incidents of permanent damage and even death. In response to the growing calls to pull the device from the market entirely, Synaptix Interstellar incorporated a limiter into subsequent versions that nearly eliminated its lethality, but reduced its performance. It is known, however, that the limiter can be hacked through illegal modification, allowing a Whip to fulfill its deadly potential. Regardless of whether a Whip is modified or not, direct transcranial contact between the tip of the baton and the head of the target can result in permanent mental and physical impairment. As a result, there are many areas of the Core where possession of a Whip is highly regulated or even illegal.

With an effective range of only up to 3 meters (point blank), the Neuronic Whip has a very short reach. Following a short high-pitched audible buildup, it projects an invisible hyperpulse beam, inflicting damage directly on the neuromuscular system of a struck target. The target may attempt to Dodge a ranged attack, or Defend against a melee attack in which the attacker is attempting to make direct contact with the Whip. Armor offers the target no protection unless his head is completely covered by a full helmet, and even then only shields the target against melee damage (i.e., ranged damage value still applies). Damage is applied as detailed below, with an additional Special Damage option requiring the victim to make a Will Test against an incapacitated condition of shock (see "Shock", page 116 of the //Thousand Suns Rulebook//).

The Neuronic Whip has no inherent power to compel a victim to say or do anything against their will, but its capacity for agony makes it a favorite instrument of intimidation in darker corners of the Thousand Suns. When skillfully used by someone in conjunction with the Torture specialization, they temporarily gain an additional +1 TN bonus for that Skill Test for each time the Whip has been used (see "Changing Attitudes", page 123 of the //Thousand Suns Rulebook//). The risk to the torturer, of course, is that they may kill the victim before breaking their resolve and getting the results they want.

The Neuronic Whip has a self-contained rechargeable power supply, and is good for only 3 discharges unless used in conjunction with a Power Backpack (page 152 of the //Thousand Suns Rulebook//). Alternately, the Whip can be affixed to an optional 100$ Power Rod for a practically unlimited amount of uses between recharges. In this configuration, the Neuronic Whip most resembles a 1¼ meter walking cane.

As it was developed for use against the nervous system of humans, the Whip is only effective when used against Terrans and Myrmidons. Those of the Delphic clade are mysteriously immune, and Psions may defend themselves using the Psychic Shield power. It is assumed that use of the Neuronic Whip on other alien species would be ineffective – or, at least, unpredictable – though there are no records of any such tests having been conducted.

In the face of declining sales, it has been rumored that Synaptix Interstellar is secretly developing a mass neuronic disruptor based on the same technology, presumably for military use. Not only would such an effort be illegal, it would put into jeopardy most inter-species treaties. To date, no evidence of any such development (let alone a customer for it) has been found, and it's worth noting that the story often resurfaces when Synaptix Interstellar's stock is down. Nevertheless, the rumor persists, and there are parties of influence who feel it warrants further investigation...

''NEURONIC WHIP''

''Damage Value:'' Ranged - 2 (15) + Special (Optional Will Test vs. Shock rules, page 116 of the Thousand Suns core rules); Melee - 3 (30) + Special (Optional Will Test vs. Shock)
''Range:'' 3 meters
''ROF:'' S
''Cost:'' 1800$ (2500$ in the Marches and Wildspace); add 100$ for Power Rod
''Weight:'' 1 kg; 3.5 kg in Rod configuration
''Equipment Mod:'' Refer to the Variable Charge equipment modifier (page 161 of the //Thousand Suns Rulebook//) for rules that apply to hacking the limiter of a Neuronic Whip. Due to the illicit nature of this mod, the cost modifier is increased beyond the standard 30% in many parts of the galaxy.
''Cost Modifier:'' 30% (60% in Core and Civilized regions)

''Created by:'' Robert Saint John (Inspired by Isaac Asimov)

This sub-section details characters suitable for use as allies, antagonists, and patrons of the player characters. In general, non-player characters have neither Hooks nor Action Points, although the Game Master is free to add them if he feels they are appropriate.

* [[“Captain” Miles Dirksen]]
* [[Hen Jaa Naval Infantry]]
* [[Marik Rel-Terra]]
* [[Aluz Sherreh]]

''Profile:'' Resource Extraction
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Mountains
''Climate:'' Blistering
''Atmosphere:'' Hazardous
''Hydrographics:'' None
''Gravity:'' Heavy

''Native Sapients:'' None 
''Population:'' Hundreds of Thousands
''Government:'' Corporate
''Tech Level:'' Class VIII

Located in a close, tight, orbit to the star Telos III, Obsidian is a small rocky planet whose atmosphere is a swirling mass of poisonous gases. The planet is covered with volcanoes, sulfur pits, and fumaroles, which shrouds the planet in a hazy red and orange sheen of clouds. Though the planet is not suitable for Terrans, it is important for the Core due to it being rich in precocious metals, minerals and other raw materials necessary for manufacturing. Owned by a consortium of seven corporations, Obsidian is a mining planet, below whose surface, shielded from the intense heat, is a vast network of interconnected tunnels and mineshafts. This network joins the various subterranean habitats together and most activity take places underground.

''Profile: Commercials
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Urban 
''Climate:'' Freezing
''Atmosphere:'' Hazardous
''Hydrographics:'' Water World
''Gravity:'' Standard

''Native Sapients:'' None
''Population:'' Millions
''Government:'' Corporate
''Tech Level:'' VIII

Covered by an ocean of liquid nitrogen, massive icebergs form the only “land mass” on Odin. On several of these icebergs, domed cities have been constructed. These cities, which float upon the currents of the ocean, are the playgrounds for the rich and powerful. Artificial islands, also with domed cities, are scattered across Odin and these support the majority of those who live on Odin. Due to its location in Center Sector, Odin has become a central hub for many megacorporations, as well as a prime spot for the trendy, who revel in the notion of living in cities floating on a freezing nitrogen sea.

''Profile:'' Entertainment
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Forested
''Climate:'' Tropical
''Atmosphere:'' Standard
''Hydrographics:'' Wet
''Gravity:'' Standard
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Hundreds of Millions
''Government:'' Multiple States
''Tech Level:'' VII

Olympus Prime has one vast ocean known by the populace as simply “The Blue.” Across “The Blue” are numerous islands both great and small, covered with vast jungles. Containing pristine beaches, amazing sights of natural beauty, and warm tropical weather, Olympus Prime has attracted a number of small communities, scattered across the islands. The main means of industry for the planet centers on the large resort communities found located here. These resorts are devoted to providing visitors everything they need for a perfect vacation. As a prime vacation destination for the Core, Olympus Prime is a favorite of every social class, and many Core Worlders make it a goal to visit at least once in their lives. The exact number of resort communities numbers in the thousands, and each one is self sufficient and self-governing, although there is a coordinating body that acts as a liaison between the resorts and off world governments.

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Omission| |Heavy armor can be upgraded through the addition of computers installed in built-in slots but these computers are not described in the equipment mods section. A future entry in the ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' wiki will restore the missing text.|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Omission|Equipment Cost|Display contacts 200$; Karto 350$; Neural Recorder 500$|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Omission|Fast Freighter starship listing|Damage Control = "1"|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Omission|Strike Cruiser starship listing|Damage Control = "4"|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Omission|World Government (2D12)|Description for "Tribal" required. Use the following: "The governmenat is small and simply structured on the basis of region and common genealogy. This could mean a government as small as a few hunter-gatherer bands, or a larger group of individuals organized by clans. There is often a headman, chieftain or a council of elders that carries some authority within each tribe, but the overall social and political hierarchy is very simple. The government may have a deceptively primal appearance or manner, but it is not necessarily primitive. High-tech tribal societies can and do exist."|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Omission|Old Federation|The final sentence of the note on the Old Federation should read "Finally, the Old Federation provides a sense of history by implying that many things -- great things -- occurred before the start of the campaign. This is important, because Imperial SF places great value in knowing and learning from the triumphs and errors of the past."|

"It has been, by the reckoning of our most devoted and knowledgeable scholars, countless millennia since your kind and mine, sir, have left our mother planet: long enough for our mother, and the legendary Holy City, to recede into the mists of legend and myth. None know where mother Earth is, but where-ever she is, I am sure God protects her, as He protects me and you.

What we do know is that we have spread far and wide, in distances almost unimagined, I do not doubt, by our forefathers. Our kind have settled in so many worlds, some generous, some parsimonious, but all bounty provided by God under our care. There are many like me, men and women of the Stellar Umma, bringing the light of truth and civilization where we can, God willing, guided by the Recitations, the Path and the Law.

Ah. . . did I seem overly proselytizing to you? I apologize. It is, I suppose, rather rude. It is not to say that we are alone here, surrounded and united. Not even within the Umma are we united by cause; after all, scarcely fifty years ago the Umma was split, as caliph fought against emir, emir clashed against sultan, sultan beat back raja and raja squabbled with every kind emperor and warlord from here to Cordova.

And there are many who forswear the unity of the Umma -- some mere fly-specks, while others, like the damnable Myrmidons, almost equal to us in power. Not all are foes, surprisingly: some, like the Kingdom of Judah, are old friends, while others, like the Principality of Darwinia, are former foes. But, to be frank, sir? Had you been awakened two or three centuries ago, I might have killed you where you stood. But for now? There is peace; the Caliph Umar VII has decreed it so, and for as long as he holds Qutb, it is so, God willing.

But even so, times are turbulent. As you may well imagine, there has been word that the Court in Qutb is fragmenting, that the Ulema have begun agitating against the Caliph and secluded themselves away from what they see as the corruption of state. These are not the same ulema of perhaps your memory, no doubt; it is said that they hold
secrets unimaginable, or, at the very least, mythical.

Careless talk abounds, of course, and we hear whispers of words like, for example, "psionics" and "psychohistory". How many of these words are lies and how many are truth? Only God knows, and, to tell you the truth, my friend, he is not talking, ha ha!

But! That is perhaps, yet, in the future. Now, today, life goes on. We trade, we farm, we love, we occasionally fight amongst ourselves, we make merry. Many of us explore when we can, where we can. Life goes on, sir! Indeed, life goes on. It always will, one hopes. . . especially here, in the One Thousand and One Suns."

''Contributor:'' Tariq Kamal

This sub-section describes organizations operating in the Thousand Suns.

* [[The Encylopedia Galactica Foundation]]
* [[GalactEx]]
* [[Marine Fire Team]]
* [[Navy Crews]]
* [[Sohay of Azure, the]]

''Profile:'' Military
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Swampy
''Climate:'' Warm
''Atmosphere:'' Standard
''Hydrographics:'' Moderate
''Gravity:'' Standard
''Native Sapients:'' Standard

''Population:'' Hundreds of Millions
''Government:'' Monarchy
''Tech Level:'' VII

Osiris is a source of mercenaries for the Core Worlds and beyond. For as long as anyone can remember the Clans of Osiris have provided some of the most renowned soldiers of fortune in the Thousand Suns. Though the planet is dominated by many different clans, they all acknowledge the suzerainty of a single monarch, from what a clan now known as the Throne Clan. Having held power for nearly a millennium, the Throne Clan is devoted keeping Osiris wealthy through the sale of anything relating to warfare. From weapons manufacturing to military consulting to battle-hardened warriors, Osiris is one of the premier purveyors of military goods to all who can afford their sometimes exorbitant fees.

* [[Armor Mods]]
* [[Blaster Shield]]
* [[Breather Mask]]
* [[Ground Combat Armor]]
* [[Knuckle Punch]]
* [[Neuronic Whip]]
* [[Tactical Helmet]]
* [[Stasis Field]]
* [[Stealth Suit]]
* [[Stunners]]
* [[Universal Equipment Mods]]

''Profile:'' Military
''Type:'' Satellite
''Primary Terrain:'' Barren
''Climate:'' Freezing
''Atmosphere:'' Hazardous
''Hydrographics:'' Water
''Gravity:'' Light
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Tens of Thousands
''Government:'' Military
''Tech Level:'' VIII

Orbiting the gas giant Mabel, the frozen moon of Pinnacle serves an important function as a military base and naval shipyard. Though a kilometers-thick layer of ice covers the surface, deep below this ice, swirls a radioactive ocean. Researchers long ago discovered that at the center of the planet is a dense rocky center heavy in Radon and Uranium, but no effort has yet been made to extract these valuable resources. Dotting the surface of Pinnacle are many military installations, as well as numerous orbital shipyards.

This sub-section provides descriptions of planets found among the Thousand Suns.

* [[Longview]]
* [[Meridian]]
* [[Obsidian]]
* [[Odin]]
* [[Olympus Prime]]
* [[Osiris]]
* [[Pinnacle]]
* [[Portal]]
* [[Rook]]
* [[Tribulation]]
* [[Unueco]]
* [[Zenith]]

This sub-section includes ready-to-use characters generated according to the guidelines in Chapter 1 of the ''Thousand Suns'' rulebook and suitable for use as beginning player characters.

* [[Kventino Navare]]

''Profile:'' Manufacturing/Processing
''Type:'' Asteroid
''Primary Terrain:'' Craters
''Climate:'' Freezing
''Atmosphere:'' None
''Hydrographics:'' None
''Gravity:'' Standard
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Tens of Thousands
''Government:'' Corporate
''Tech Level:'' VIII

Orbiting the star Portal is the Portal Asteroid Belt. The belt, which many scientist believe was once a life-sustaining planet, is now own by the Citadel Hammer Corporation, which uses the Portal Belt as its primary smelting and refinery hub. Billions of tons of raw materials are brought here to be processed and refined for production at one of the thousands of Citadel Hammer factories located not only at Portal, but other facilities as well. The pockets of life found here are located in large asteroids, which have been hollowed out, pressurized, and set up to support a Terran environment. These asteroid space stations are wonders of engineering, and contain growing gardens, artificial weather systems, and all the necessary ingredients to support Terran life.

Quaddies are genetically engineered Terrans who were designed to fill the role of zero-g workers prior to the advent of artificial gravity. The most noticeable difference between them and baseline humans is that in place of legs they have a second set of arms. This modification not only provides additional hands with which to carry out tasks but also allows them a finer degree of movement while doing so. As a side benefit, Quaddies were also designed to be more resistant to radiation and suffer less from zero-g related conditions such as calcium loss in their bones. The downside of their “design” is that they are less mobile in a gravity environment. Quaddies are capable of a kind of scuttling motion or walking on just their lower appendages but are slower when doing so.

The invention of artificial gravity put the Quaddies in an awkward position because virtually overnight it looked as though they were out of the job they were created for. In response, the Quaddie community as a whole made for the farthest reaches of the jump network hoping to carve out a home for their kind. They were successful and today are in nominal control of a group of systems which have been dubbed Quaddie-space. Although Quaddies tend to be found near their home systems, it’s not uncommon for them to be found across the Thousand Suns, mainly working as zero-g riggers. While in a gravity field, most Quaddies use personal floaters to get around more easily.

The Quaddie species package looks like this:

Two extra arms
No legs
+2 Acrobatics Skill
-2 to any movement related Skill while in gravity
Resistance to radiation, calcium loss and muscle shrinkage in an orbital environment

''Note:'' Quaddies are the invention of Lois Bujold. They feature in a number of her books and stories, most notable among them being [[Falling Free|http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Free-Miles-Vorkosigan-Adventures/dp/1416555463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265394456&sr=8-1]], which tells the story behind their creation. No challenge to copyright is implied or intended.

''Adapted by:'' Greg Videll

''Profile:'' Agriculture
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Plains 
''Climate:'' Temperate
''Atmosphere:'' Standard
''Hydrographics:'' Moderate
''Gravity:'' Standard
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Hundred of Millions
''Government:'' Direct Democracy
''Tech Level:'' VIII

Devoted to all things agricultural, the surface of Rook is covered with vast fields and large plantations. Known somewhat erroneously as the “Breadbasket of the Core,” Rook’s economy centers on the mass production of farm products for those worlds whose local cultures eschew fabricated foodstuffs. These foodstuffs include beers, spirits, and wines as well; many Rook vintages are considered luxury items of great value throughout the Thousand Suns. In recent years, a new area of economic growth has opened on Rook -- tourism. Many Core Worlders have begun coming to this farming planet to connect to a simpler life that is rare in the heavily-populated center of inhabited space.

This sub-section is devoted to alternate and optional rules, including house rules designed either to better emulate a particular style of Imperial SF gaming or to correct perceived flaws in the published rules for ''[[Thousand Suns|http://www.rogue-games.net/othergames2.html]].''

* [[Armor Mods]]
* [[Campaign Switches]]
* [[Career Packages]]
* [[Detailed Unarmed Combat]]
* [[Melee Combat Damage]]
* [[Tactics: A New Option]]
* [[Unarmed Combat and Dodging]]
* [[Universal Equipment Mods]]

This sub-section is devoted to options and variants relating to the design of Imperial SF settings in general through the use of the ''Thousand Suns'' rules, as opposed to development of the [[Meta-Setting]], which has its own sub-section.

<<search>><<closeAll>><<permaview>>

<<tabs txtMainTab "Timeline" "Timeline" TabTimeline "All" "All tiddlers" TabAll "Tags" "All tags" TabTags >>

A regularly updated resource for the ''Thousand Suns'' roleplaying game by [[Rogue Games|http://12-degrees.net/thousand-suns-rulebook/]]

Encyclopedia Galactica

The Sohay were warrior-monks of the Ichiban Sect on the planet Azure who gained notoriety during the [[Civil War]] as fierce fighters and astute tacticians. (Note that the name Azure has been given to several worlds; this entry refers to the one in the Ellipse Sector). In the decades leading up to the [[Civil War]], Azure was plagued with a weak central government. Wealthy landholders, influential religious orders and off planet interests both fuelled and benefitted from this weakness. The final blow came when the government failed to line up behind either faction in the [[Civil War]], lost what little confidence remained in the populace and fragmented into competing “governments in exile” or “temporary action committees”.

Attempting to fill this political vacuum were the very organizations which had created it. In the years leading up to the [[Civil War]], each had created its own private army, be it locally raised, hired off world or sometimes both. These armies became the instrument by which ultimate political power was to be secured. In the case of the Ichiban Sect, it fielded a force of lower level clerics trained in the military arts. Unfortunately for Azure, no one faction was able to field a decisive force and therefore a protracted series of conflicts followed which were marked by assassination, terrorism, commando actions and battles involving what amounted to light infantry. The Sohay fell into the last category and earned a fearsome reputation for tenacity and a ready ability to adapt to changes on the battlefield.

The conflict on Azure sputtered along but was decisively ended when Naval Infantry forces were landed to restore order and return Azure to “the community of civilized worlds”. Most Sohay chose to lay down arms for good once peace was imposed but a minority decided to ply their trade offworld or participate in a very brief, very fatal resistance movement. Over the intervening generation, rumors to the contrary, the Sohay have quietly faded away although some notable individuals still serve as advisors to individual worlds, teach strategy and tactics, or simply wander the jump lines.

''Contributor:'' Gregory P. Videll

A combination of law enforcer, interstellar troubleshooter and impromptu diplomat, the space ranger is charged by the State with keeping the peace and apprehending lawbreakers.

''Novice'': Acrobatics 2, Bureaucracy 2, Dodge 2, Empathy 2, Intimidation 1, Investigation 2, Observe 2, Piloting 2, Profession (Space Ranger) 2, Shoot 2, Streetwise 2, Unarmed Combat 2, Vehicle Operations 1, 2 Ranks in any skills of you choice.

''Rank'': Ranger

''Experienced'': Acrobatics 3, Bureaucracy 3, Culture 2, Dodge 4, Empathy 4, Intimidation 3, Investigation 4, Observe 3, Piloting 3, Profession (Space Ranger) 4, Shoot 4, Streetwise 4, Unarmed Combat 4, Vehicle Operations 2, 3 Ranks in any skills of you choice.

''Rank'': Corporal, Sergeant

''Veteran'': Acrobatics 4, Bureaucracy 4, Culture 3, Dodge 5, Empathy 5, Intimidation 5, Investigation 6, Observe 5, Piloting 4, Profession (Space Ranger) 6, Shoot 6, Streetwise 4, Unarmed Combat 6, Vehicle Operations 3, 4 Ranks in any skills of you choice.

''Rank'': Lieutenant, Captain 

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

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* [[Quaddies]]
* [[Tenkoot]]

* [[Alina Class Picket]]
* [[Lehnik Class Corvette]]

Stasis field is the common term for an artificially created barrier which is impervious to all known forms of matter and energy. In form, the field always encloses a volume of space and has a contiguous exterior. There is no known way to “leave a window open” in one. Anything contained within a stasis field is entirely cut off from the surrounding universe. Time stands still from the point of view of an outside observer. Also, the inertial state of objects within are unaffected by external events. A field can be subjected to acceleration and/or deceleration without its contents being affected in the least. Interestingly, a stasis field will not work inside of another stasis field, the contained field collapses automatically.
 
Despite its obvious utility, the stasis field’s practical applications remain limited.  Current science is unable to create a stable field much more than one-third of a cubic meter in volume and even that requires a great deal of power. (It would drain a standard power backpack in ten minutes). They remain semi-custom devices which are built individually and therefore tend to be rather expensive. Rumors persist that technology yielding a larger stable field has been developed but this has yet to be publicly confirmed.
 
Stasis fields are used in scientific research into the nature of space-time and to contain hazardous, fragile and/or perishable objects.

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

The stealth suit is designed to conceal its wearer from detection and make him harder to hit if he is detected. It is made from crystal lattice fabric and incorporates sonic dampeners and a photo dispersive field.  

''AV:'' 5
''DV:'' 10
''Weight:'' 3 kg.
''Bulk:'' 0.5
''Cost:'' 3562$

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

Stunners are a non-lethal form of energy weapon which were designed to incapacitate their target by overloading the central nervous system. A Shoot Test is used when firing a stunner. A person hit by a stunner beam makes a Body Test to resist its effects. The number of successes earned from the Body Test is subtracted from the successes from the Shoot Test. Any remaining successes are deducted from the target’s Dexterity. If the target’s Dexterity is reduced to zero, the person collapses. Any additional successes after this point are totaled and compared to the character’s Body Ability. If the total number of successes equals or exceeds the characters Body, he is rendered unconscious. The effects of being stunned last one Round for each degree of success the target is hit for. Multiple hits in the same or subsequent Rounds have a cumulative effect.

Licensing requirements for stunners are commonly rather lax because of their non-lethal nature although this can vary from place to place. Stunners are ineffective against individuals wearing space suits or armor which fully covers the entire body. Personal force fields also block stunner fire. A TN-2 penalty to the Shoot Test is applied when the target is only partially covered by armor. (This figure can be adjusted up or down by the GM as the situation warrants). Additionally, the effectiveness of a stunner may vary depending on the species or clade involved.

Stunners are pistol sized weapons with a range value of 10m. They cost around 800$ for single shot versions and 1100$ for fully automatic models.

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

Would you like to contribute to the ''Encyclopedia Galactica''? If so, visit the [[Submissions Page|http://www.rogue-games.net/submissions]] to find out how. The Encyclopedia Foundation is always interested in adding talented individuals to our list of contributors.

This switch is for campaigns in which the characters can trust no one. All successful social interaction Tests automatically lose one degree of success (minimum 0).

<<timeline>>

The modern tactical combat helmet provides some armor protection to the wearer’s head and neck although this is somewhat limited by the amount of surface area that incoming energy, kinetic and otherwise, can be distributed across. It also incorporates an infra red/low light/thermal camera, which is filtered against overload, a personal heads-up display (HUD) and communicator.

''Armor Value:'' 5 
''Weight:'' 2kg (weight negligible while worn)
''Cost:'' 200$

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

On page 113 of the ''Thousand Suns'' rules its states that a character can’t receive a bonus from the success of another character’s Tactics Test which is more than his own Rank in Tactics or 1, whichever is higher. Since it seems logical that Tactics include some ability to convey tactically useful information to those without the Skill, the GM has the option of allowing the character who made the Tactics Test to distribute up to half of his total degrees of success to any one other character for use in a Test that Round. 

''Contributed By:'' Greg Vidall

In order to reduce the effectiveness of Tangler on armor and equipment, a special purpose chemical coating was developed. The coating creates a barrier on any surface it is applied to which reduces the Tangler compound’s ability to adhere. In game terms, the coating subtracts three degrees of success from any Test involving the use of Tangler. If no successes remain, the Tangler fails to adhere to the target. 

The coating takes some time to apply and at least a day to cure but will last for three to five years depending on the actual environmental conditions it is exposed to. It can also be rendered ineffective if damaged by physical impact or exposure to high energy. The coating cannot be used on “active” surfaces such as those incorporating LCD camouflage or photo dispersive fields. 

''Cost:'' +10% to the cost of the armor or equipment. 


''Created by:'' Greg Videll

This sub-section describes new equipment, vehicles, starships, and other bits of high technology suitable for use with ''Thousand Suns.''

* [[Personal Equipment]]
* [[Starships]]
* [[Vehicles]]

The Tenkoot is a hexapodal avian animal native to the planet Impirii in The Marches. It is rather intelligent, highly trainable and is commonly used to herd livestock on a number of worlds. The average Tenkoot is two meters in length with roughly half of that being body and the other half a flexible prehensile tail. The tail is used as a hunting weapon by undomesticated examples of the species; trained Tenkoot use them, with less force, to keep the more recalcitrant members of the herd in line. Average wingspan is two to three meters and a complicated series of joints permits the animal to tuck the folded wings in close to its body. The Tenkoot is covered in light soft fur, commonly shading tan to brown on the dorsal surface and sandy to white on the ventral. They are omnivorous mammals who mate for life.

Typically one or more Tenkoot will orbit a herd, dipping down when necessary to marshal stray animals back into the group. In addition to their tails, they also use the powerful back blast from their wings while hovering to kick up dust or otherwise intimidate their charges. Tenkoot responds to both verbal and visual commands and are commonly fitted with communications receivers on collars while working on the range.

Tenkoot are generally affectionate toward sentients they are familiar with and tend to develop their own characteristic personality.

//Abilities (averages)//

Body 4, Dexterity 4 (grounded)/7 (airborne), Perception 4, Presence 2, Will 4

Vitality: 20

Resolve: 15

''Skills:'' Acrobatics 4 (airborne only), Unarmed Combat: 4 (bite, tail)

''Traits:'' Attack Bonus +1 (Tail), Low Light Vision, Natural Weapon (Tail), Prehensile Tail, Wings

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

The Encyclopedia Galactica FoundationOne of the more influential organizations in the Thousand Suns is neither an organ of the State nor a great commercial enterprise (though it does make money – quite a lot of it, in fact). This organization is the Encyclopedia Galactica Foundation, more commonly known as the Encyclopedia Foundation or simply the Foundation. Established shortly after the signing of the Concord, the Foundation produces an encyclopedia of all knowledge, which it sells to eager readers throughout the Thousand Suns.

The Encyclopedia Galactica is a compendium of every subject, from jump physics to xenobiology to history. The encyclopedia has a well deserved reputation both for its thorough treatment of its contents and its relative objectivity. The Foundation has remained aloof from politics for centuries and makes a concerted effort to be seen as a “neutral observer” in the conflicts of the day.The Encyclopedia Galactica is constantly revised and updated. The Foundation accomplishes
this by sponsoring teams of researchers who travel throughout the Thousand Suns to visit historical sites, interview important people, explore ruins, observe alien species, and much more. As a result, the Foundation employs a vast number of people from all backgrounds and professions in the pursuit of knowledge. On occasion, the Foundation has come under fire because of hiring practices, particularly when it employs individuals Core worlds society deems “inappropriate.” The Foundation has always maintained that they make no judgments on the individuals they hire so long as commit no crimes or jeopardize the mission for which they were hired. To that end, they hire individuals based on their areas of expertise and usefulness to the job at hand. If that means hiring a hard-bitten mercenary captain from the Marches rather than a lauded research scientist from the Core, so be it.

''Topics''
* [[Grad Students]]

''Profile:'' Research/Colony
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Dessert
''Climate:'' Blistering
''Atmosphere:'' Hazardous
''Hydrographics:'' None
''Gravity:'' Heavy
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Thousands
''Government:'' Corporation
''Tech Level:'' VIII

Covered largely by desert, Tribulation is a hot dust ball under the domain of the corporation Pulse Works. It is here that Pulse Works engineers and scientist devote themselves to the research and development of lasers and other high frequency energy devices. The remoteness, as well as lifeless desert, allows for all manner of tests to be preformed without fear of harming innocent people. The bulk of the colonists found here are Pulse Works scientists, engineers and researchers who are the foremost experts in optics and lasers. Due to the military applications of many of Pulse Works creations, the planet is heavily guarded.

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Typo|Armor|"Wearing is another effective means to defend oneself against damage" should read "Wearing armor is another effective means to defend oneself against damage"|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Typo|Frigate starship listing|Should be "Needle Drivers"|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Typo|Abilities|Average Terran human ability value should be "6"|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Typo|World Atmosphere (1D12)|Values for “Standard World Atmosphere" should be a roll of 1-8|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Typo|Starship Cards Clipper starship card|Hull value should be 300|

|TYPE|SECTION|DETAIL|
|Typo|Starship Cards Destroyer starship card|Should be "Needle Drivers"|

An unarmed combat attack can be dodged, using the Dodge Skill, or the Unarmed Combat Skill. In both cases the degrees of success are subtracted from the attacker’s degrees of success.

''Ruggedized:'' This modification enables commercially available equipment to withstand the rigors of hard use, most commonly those associated with combat. The structural integrity of the equipment is reinforced so that it can withstand being inadvertently dropped or struck, keypads are protected to reduce the chance of accidental activation, readouts are made of materials which resist scratching and the like.

''Cost modifier:'' +10%
//Weight modifier: +10% (see below)//

''Rad hardened:'' This modification minimizes a piece of equipment’s susceptibility to damage or malfunction due to exposure to radiation through the use of shielding and grounding techniques. Note that it does not prevent equipment from becoming radioactive, just that it permits it to continue to operate..

''Cost modifier: +10%''
//Weight modifier: +10% (see below//

//Note: Although the game doesn't call for them, I tacked on the weight modifiers as a notional idea//.

''Created by:'' Greg Videll

''Profile:'' Rare Goods
''Type:'' Terrestrial
''Primary Terrain:'' Forested/Mountains
''Climate:'' Temperate
''Atmosphere:'' Standard
''Hydrographics:'' Moderate
''Gravity:'' Standard
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Millions
''Government:'' Junta
''Tech Level:'' VIII

Unueco’s previous government, the Representative Democracy of All Life, was overthrown by offworld interests after a series of uprisings based on falsified evidence of atrocities committed by the government. These interests saw the possibility of exploiting planet’s rich platinum and gold deposits found in its tree-covered mountains and decided it was simpler to initiate a coup than to negotiate for rights to mine these ores. Unfortunately, though the coup was successful in establishing offworld rule, much of the populace no longer supports the ruling junta and there is a strong possibility that violence may once again break out across the planet.

This switch is for campaigns in which every character has his price. All successful Tests that involve appealing to a NPC’s baser nature (whether through bribery, seduction, etc.) automatically gain an additional degree of success.

This sub-section includes links to other sites where fans of Thousand Suns describe their own interpretation of the game's rules and meta-setting. 

* [[Kasumi's History of the Xibalba Cluster]]
* [[Living in Starlight|http://livinginstarlight.tiddlyspot.com/]]
* [[One Thousand and One Suns]]
* [[The Divide|http://www.scruffyco.com/divide/Main/HomePage]]

[>img[The Jump Gates are Open|http://www.rogue-games.net/logo_final_metal_mini.gif]]Welcome to the ''Encyclopedia Galactica'', your online source for information dealing with the myriad worlds and species of the ''[[Thousand Suns|http://www.rogue-games.net/othergames2.html]]''. 

True to its name, the ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' is an ever-growing compendium that will allow you to explore a wide variety of information pertaining to game, written both its creators and contributors like you. From Rules, to Meta-Setting related issues, the ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' will be updated regularly, so that it can fulfill its purpose as the definitive source of ideas and inspirations for both players and Game Masters of ''[[Thousand Suns|http://www.rogue-games.net/othergames2.html]]''.

To start, simply use the menu to the left to jump to the section you would like to explore.

''Profile:'' Commercial
''Type:'' Satellite
''Primary Terrain:'' Plains
''Climate:'' Cool
''Atmosphere:'' Near-standard
''Hydrographics:'' Dry
''Gravity:'' Light
''Native Sapients:'' None

''Population:'' Millions
''Government:'' Criminal
''Tech Level:''  VIII

Zenith is actually one of thirty moons orbiting the large gas giant Ozz. Due to Zenith’s orbit, as well the light and heat given off by Ozz, the moon is able to support life, and has become an important commercial hub, despite the remoteness. Because of its close proximity to its sister moons, some of which are rich in natural resources, Zenith serves as a base for many extraction corporations. Though many think that the elected government is a puppet of these corporations, the true power lies with the criminal syndicate known as the Ring of Stars. This group has their hands in numerous legitimate and criminal enterprises and, though found throughout the Core, Zenith is their home base.

''Species:'' Terran ''Gender:'' Male ''Age:'' 34
''Homeworld:'' [[Longview]] (Low population, Marches)
''Careers:'' Law Enforcer (Novice), Survivalist (Experienced)
''Rank:'' N/A

''Body:'' 8 ''Dexterity:'' 7 ''Perception:'' 9 ''Presence'': 6 ''Will:'' 8

''Vitality:'' 40 ''Resolve:'' 21

''Action Points:'' 5

''Hooks:'' Sets His Mind to It, Self Reliant, Peacekeeper, The Failure of Unification, To The Stars

''Benefit Points:'' 3

''Skills:''
Animal Handling 4
Athletics 7
Bargain 1
Bureaucracy 1
Defend 6
Diplomacy 1
Dodge 5
Empathy 1
Intimidation 2
Investigation 2
Life Sciences 2
Language (Lingua Terra) 2
Language (Czanik) 2
Medical Sciences 3
Melee 4
Observe 6
Shoot 6
Stealth 4
Streetwise 2
Survival 7
Tactics 2
Technical Sciences 1
Unarmed Combat 6
Vehicle 1

''Background and Personality:'' Miles Dirksen was born on the colony world of [[Longview]] in the Marches, a planet which takes its name from the flat plains which dominate the surface. The principal economic activity on planet centers on ranching and resource exploitation. While life on Longview could not be described as harsh, it is challenging and fosters a strong sense of self reliance in the population. Miles grew up on one of the numerous ranches and at a young age he was out learning about life in the bush.

During his teens, Miles joined a local ad hoc group charged with keeping the peace between nearby population centers, fighting off the native vermin, search and rescue duties and the like. As time went on, the peacekeeping function became more prominent as access to water and grazing lands became an issue. With the assistance of State advisors, a single planetary government was formed. It was a daunting task but it stemmed the growing tide of unrest on [[Longview]]. Based on his previous experience, Miles was invited to join the Rangers, the planetary police force, where he held the rank of Captain, a title he still sometimes uses.

Miles served in the Rangers for three years before the young government collapsed. Fortunately the old patchwork of local town or family based governance reasserted its self, thereby avoiding a descent into anarchy. Still, for people like Miles, the failure of unification came as a serious blow. For a time he returned to the region where he grew up and resumed his old duties but felt unfulfilled. Contact with a Czanik trade expedition visiting [[Longview]] offered a chance to go off world and try his hand at something different. (And some say to escape his past life).

Miles stayed with the expedition for many months before finding a new position as a bush guide with an Encyclopedia Foundation research team on a frontier world. He welcomed the change of scenery and fresh challenges the position offered. With the Foundation mission soon to come to a close, Miles has begun to cast about for another job.

''Created by:'' Greg Videll