mankind’s battle for the stars continues ad/2320 ad corebook.pdfcore are as distant and strange as...
TRANSCRIPT
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Colin Dunn
Mankind’s Battle for the Stars Continues
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Mankind’s Battle for the Stars Continues
Written By ColinDunn
Cover Art TedLindsey
Interior Art TedLindsey
BryanGibson
ColinDunn
LaurentEsmiol
Someartworkfromtheoriginal2300AD
PDF Layout HunterGordon
MattGordon(AdditionalAssistance)
Character Sheet PatrickMurphy
Playtesters JoelBenford
StephenHerron
JonCrocker
ConstantineThomas
RandyMcDonald
MarkSiefert
Boris(“kafka47”)Cibic
JonathanPearson
MichaelBrinkhues
Commando
Kaladorn
Duran_goodyear
RogerCalver
BillSeney
GJD
JeffHopper
KevinLaRoche
Aramis
TheiHoPGang:PeterHarris,MikeTotman,DustinFriel,
SteveFitzpartick,EarlWoods,JeffPitts,andScottFriel,
forpizza,playtesting,beverages,andencouragement
Based on the original 2300AD published by Game Designers’ Workshop and Traveller20
Special Thanks To AbrahamGubler,BrynMonnery,DanHebditch,and
KevinClark.AlsothankstoPeteRogan,forallowing
metousehisdescriptionoftheL-5habitat.
AlsospecialthankstoDaveMalesevichfortheoriginal
Tiranemap.
Dedicated ToToJulieGirouard,mywife,bestfriend,andpartner.
Thankyouforallyourassistance,andpatience,whileI
workedonthisbook.Icouldnothavedoneitwithout
you.
Copyright©2007QuikLinkInteractive,Inc.Allrights
reserved.TravellerisaregisteredtrademarkofFarFuture
Enterprisesandisusedunderlicense.2300isusedunder
licensefromFarFutureEnterprises.
Reproductionofthisworkinanyformwithoutpermission
fromQuikLink,exceptaspermittedbytheOpenGame
Licenseorwherepermissiontophotocopyisclearlystated,
isexpresslyforbidden.
PortionsofthismaterialarereleasedundertheOpenGame
License(OGL),acopyofwhichisavailableattherearofthis
book,alongwiththedesignationofallOpenGameContent
specifiedinthisbodyofwork.
THIS WORK REQUIRES THE USE OF THE TRAVELLER20 (T20) TRAVELLER’S HANDBOOK
(THB) IN ORDER TO PLAY.
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Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction SpaceTravel............................................................. 4 NationsAndPolitics................................................. 4
Colonies.................................................................. 4
Aliens...................................................................... 5
Stutterwarp............................................................. 5
Adventures.............................................................. 5
2320ADAnd2300AD............................................. 6 2320ADAndTraveller....................................... 6 2320ADAndTwilight:2000............................. 6 TheNearStarListAndStarMap....................... 6
Chapter 2: Background TheTwilightWar...................................................... 7
TheAgeOfRecovery(21stCentury)......................... 7 MajorWars....................................................... 8
TheSecondAgeOfExploration(22ndCentury)......... 8
TheSecondAgeOfCommerce(23rdCentury)......... 9
AnUnsettledTime:2300–Present...................... 11 TheFlightOfTheBayern................................ 11 TheKaferWar................................................ 11 Aftermath...................................................... 15 WarsOnEarth................................................ 15 TraditionalRivalries......................................... 15 TraditionalCooperations................................. 16
Chapter 3: Characters QuickCharacterGenerationSystem................... 17 InitialSteps..................................................... 17 AbilityScores.................................................. 17 Homeworld.................................................... 17 GravityType.................................................... 18 BodyType...................................................... 18
HomeworldSkillsAndFeats................................ 18 HomeworldFeats........................................... 18
TechLevel.............................................................. 19
QuickCharacterGeneration.............................. 19 MusteringOut................................................ 20 TurningPointBenefits..................................... 21 Aging............................................................. 21
SkillsAndFeats...................................................... 21 Skills............................................................... 21 Feats.............................................................. 22
Classes.................................................................. 24 Colonist(CoreClass)...................................... 24 Journalist(CoreClass)..................................... 25
PriorHistoryTables................................................. 26 Colonist(CoreClass)...................................... 26 Journalist(CoreClass)..................................... 27 CharacterClasses.......................................... 27
PrestigeClasses..................................................... 29 Troubleshooter............................................... 29 SpecialForces................................................. 30 AlienCulturalAndTechnologiesExpert........... 32 PrestigeClassMasterSkillList......................... 33
CharacterGenerationExample.............................. 34 Stats............................................................... 34 Homeworld.................................................... 34 StartingSkillsAndFeats.................................. 34
FirstTurningPoint........................................... 34 SecondTurningPoint...................................... 34 ThirdTurningPoint......................................... 34
Chapter 4: Rules Additions PersonalCombat................................................... 36 PersonalArmor............................................... 36 HitLocationsAndWoundEffects.................... 36
VehicleCombat..................................................... 36 Missiles........................................................... 38 Torpedoes....................................................... 40
Chapter 5: Foundations TheMajorFoundations................................... 41 AstronomischenRechen-institut..................... 41 TheLifeFoundation........................................ 42 NorthAmericanResearchLeague................... 42 Zapamoga...................................................... 43
TransnationalCorporations.................................... 43 RebcoSar....................................................... 43 Trilon.............................................................. 43 Americo......................................................... 44
TerroristGroups..................................................... 44 Provolution..................................................... 45 Coyfederacy................................................... 45
Chapter 6: Core Worlds Earth/sol................................................................ 47 TheSolarSystem............................................ 48 Earth.............................................................. 49 Tier1............................................................. 53 Tier2............................................................. 54 Tier3............................................................. 57 Tier4............................................................. 63 SeaFloorDevelopment................................... 69 Antarctica....................................................... 69 OrbitalSpace.................................................. 69 BeyondOrbit.................................................. 70
Tirane,AlphaCentauriA....................................... 71 SystemData................................................... 71 PlanetaryData................................................ 72 ColoniesAndNations..................................... 74
Chapter 7: Frontier Worlds Colonies................................................................ 80
TheAmericanArm................................................. 83 King/dm+23312........................................... 85 Hermes/muHerculis....................................... 87 Ellis/ac+481595-89....................................... 88 BotanyBay/dm+332277................................ 91 Kingsland/zetaHerculisA............................... 92 Avalon/dm-3411626A................................ 94
FrenchArm............................................................ 96 Nibelungen/neubayern................................... 96 Beowulf/queenAlice’sStar(Dm+461797)...... 99 Kimanjano/dm+342342............................... 101 Kie-yuma/xiUrsaeMajoris............................. 105 BetaCanumVenaticorum............................. 108 Joi/61UrsaeMajoris..................................... 111 Crater/henry’sStar(Dm+382285)................ 115 Adlerhorst/vogelheim................................... 117 NousVoilà/betaComaeBerenices................. 119 Dunkelheim/dm+362393............................. 122 Hochbaden/dm+2296.................................. 124 AuroreEtaBootis......................................... 125 Freiland........................................................ 128
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TheChineseArm................................................. 130 ColdMountain/deltaPavonis........................ 131 Daikoku/betaHydri....................................... 135 Haifeng/l1159-16....................................... 137 Syuhlahm/zetaTucanae................................ 139 Heidelsheimat/rhoEridani............................. 141 Chengdu/epsilonIndi.................................... 144 Kanata/dm+205046(Doris)......................... 146 Eriksson/ac+17534-105.............................. 147 KwantungTauCeti....................................... 149 Dukou/epsilonEridani................................... 151 Montana/omicron2Eridani.......................... 153 Austin’sWorld/dm-31123............................ 155 Paulo/procyon.............................................. 158
Chapter 8: Alien Space ThePentapodFinger............................................ 161 NotableSystems........................................... 161
TheBayernCorridor............................................. 161 NotableSystems........................................... 162
BetaAquilaeCluster............................................ 162 NotableSystems........................................... 163
TheKaferSphere................................................. 164 NotableSystems........................................... 164
YliiSpace............................................................. 165 NotableSystems........................................... 165
TheBackDoorRoute........................................... 166 NotableSystems........................................... 166
Chapter 9: Orbital Facilities OrbitalFacilities,OutpostsAndEnclaves........... 167 HumanEnclaves........................................... 168 Stark............................................................ 169 GammaSerpentisIii...................................... 169 AlienEnclaves............................................... 170 ThePentapodEnclaves................................. 170 SungEnclaves............................................... 170
Chapter 10: Aliens Of 2320 TheEbers............................................................. 172 FirstEncounter............................................. 172 Homeworld.................................................. 172 TheEbers..................................................... 173 GeneratingEberCharacters.......................... 175 TypicalEberNpcs.......................................... 176 TheKafers........................................................... 177 TheKlaxun.......................................................... 182
TheLittleGuys..................................................... 185 FirstContact................................................. 185 PhysicalDescription...................................... 185 LittleGuyCharacterGeneration................... 186
ThePentapods..................................................... 187 FirstEncounter............................................. 187
TheSung............................................................. 192 FirstEncounter............................................. 192 PhysicalDescription...................................... 193 GeneratingSungCharacters......................... 194
TheXiang............................................................ 195 FirstEncounter............................................. 195 XiangCharacterGeneration......................... 197
TheYlii................................................................ 197 FirstContact................................................. 197 CharacterGeneration................................... 201
OtherAliens........................................................ 203
TheAquilans................................................ 203 PhysicalDescription...................................... 203
BetaAquilaSpace................................................ 203 TheMedusaeAndTheEnemy...................... 203 FirstContact................................................. 204 PhysicalDescription...................................... 204 MedusaAndEnemyArtifacts........................ 204 TheAgraIntelligence.................................... 204 PhysicalDescription...................................... 204
Chapter 11: Technology TheBiologicalSciences........................................ 205
ComputersAndInformationSecurity................... 206 ComputerProgramming............................... 207 TheLinkNetwork......................................... 207 UserInterfaces.............................................. 207 RobotsAndDrones...................................... 207
MaterialsScience................................................. 208 Transportation.............................................. 208
Chapter 12: Equipment WildernessSurvivalGear.............................. 210 Tools............................................................. 212 SpecialEquipment........................................ 213 Sensors......................................................... 214 ScientificEquipment..................................... 214 MedicalEquipment....................................... 215 Communicators............................................ 215 Satellites....................................................... 216 Computers................................................... 217 PersonalPower............................................. 218 IndustrialEquipment..................................... 219 Explosives..................................................... 219 Miscellaneous............................................... 219 RobotsAndDrones...................................... 221
PentapodEquipment........................................... 224 Weapons...................................................... 226 Firearms....................................................... 226 PlasmaGuns,Man-portable(Pgmps)............ 234 Non-lethalWeapons..................................... 235 RocketLaunchersAndMortars..................... 236 GrenadeLaunchers....................................... 237 HandGrenades............................................ 237 GuidedOrdnance......................................... 238 PersonalArmor............................................. 239 ArmorMaterials........................................... 240 HelmetAdd-ons........................................... 241
Chapter 13: Cybernetics Surgery................................................................ 244 SurgicalModifications.................................. 244 ChemicalModifications................................ 246 Cybernetic/prostheticModifications........ 246
DnaModification................................................. 251 KingMassiveWorlderModification.............. 251 Zero-gSpaceAdaptationModification.......... 252 Thinair.......................................................... 252
Chapter 14: Vehicles LandVehicles....................................................... 254 CivilianVehicles............................................ 254 CargoHandlingEquipment.......................... 260
Aircraft................................................................ 261
Watercraft........................................................... 265
RailTransportation............................................... 266
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MilitaryVehicles................................................... 268 MilitaryWatercraft........................................ 270 MilitaryAircraft............................................ 272 CombatWalkers........................................... 275 VehicleOrdnance................................................. 278 Missiles......................................................... 278 Torpedoes..................................................... 279 Bombs.......................................................... 280 RocketPods.................................................. 281 VehicularWeapons....................................... 281 CombatWalkerWeapons.................................... 281
Chapter 15: Alien Technology Eber.................................................................... 283 EberWeapons.............................................. 283
Kafers.................................................................. 284 KaferEquipment.......................................... 284 KaferWeapons............................................. 285 KaferVehicles............................................... 286 KaferSpacecraft........................................... 286
Pentapod............................................................. 289 PentapodEquipment.................................... 289 PentapodWeapons...................................... 289 PentapodServitors(Biots)............................. 290 PentapodVehicles........................................ 290 PentapodShips............................................. 291
Sung.................................................................... 294 Weapons..................................................... 294 Vehicles........................................................ 294 Spacecraft.................................................... 294
Ylii .................................................................... 297 Equipment.................................................... 297 YliiWeapons................................................ 297
AquilanTechnology............................................. 300
LittleGuys........................................................... 301 ModernLittleGuyTechnology...................... 301
MedusanArtifacts............................................... 301
EnemyArtifacts................................................... 302
Chapter 16: Space Travel InterfaceTravel.................................................... 303 BeanstalkOperations.................................... 303 SpaceplaneOperations................................. 303 RotonOperations......................................... 304 RocketOperations........................................ 304 CatapultOperations..................................... 305 TimeToOrbit............................................... 305 ReentryAndLanding.................................... 305 TravelTime................................................... 305
SystemShips........................................................ 306 Zero-gravity.................................................. 306 ArtificialGravity/SpinHabitats....................... 306 Radiation...................................................... 307 Stutterwarp.................................................. 307 StarshipOperatingCosts.............................. 310 CharterRates............................................... 311
Passengers.......................................................... 311 InterfaceCosts............................................. 311 StarTravel..................................................... 311 ComfortLevel............................................... 312
StarshipCombat.................................................. 312 ChangesToBasicStarshipCombat............... 312
Chapter 17: Starships And Spacecraft
StarshipComponents.......................................... 316 Sensors......................................................... 316 TargetingSystems......................................... 317 Defenses...................................................... 317 Weapons...................................................... 317 Powerplants................................................. 317 Thrusters...................................................... 318 Roton........................................................... 318 SolidFuelRockets......................................... 318 Liquid-fuelRockets....................................... 318
InterfaceVessels.................................................. 320
CommercialStarships.......................................... 327
SurveyVessels...................................................... 330
SystemShips........................................................ 333
Tugs.................................................................... 334
MilitaryVessels.................................................... 336
Fighters............................................................... 337
Warships............................................................. 338
MissilesAndDrones............................................. 340 Missiles......................................................... 340 SensorDrones.............................................. 340 OtherDrones................................................ 340
SpaceStations..................................................... 342 ModularSpaceStation................................. 342 StationExamples.......................................... 345
Chapter 18: Starship Encounters CoreEncounters.................................................. 346 OuterSystemEncounters.............................. 346 InnerSystemEncounters............................... 346
FrontierEncounters.............................................. 348 SystemEncounters....................................... 348
Chapter 19: Animals And Npcs Non-playerCharacters......................................... 351 Section1:Civilians........................................ 351 Section2:StarshipCrews............................. 353 Section3:Military......................................... 355
Animals............................................................... 357
Chapter 20: Gm Guide CampaignTypes.................................................. 361 ExplorationAndAlienContact...................... 361 GroundCombat........................................... 362 SpaceCombat.............................................. 362 TroubleshootingCampaign........................... 363 TradeAndCommerce................................... 363 Counterterrorist............................................ 364
CharacterGoalsAndMotivations........................ 364 SourcesOfConflictIn2320AD..................... 364 GoalsAndMotivations................................. 365
2320ADAlternatives............................................ 366 Technology................................................... 366 OtherRules.................................................. 366 ModificationsToD20m/d20fSkillsAndFeats367 2300adTo2320ADConversions................... 367
Bibliography........................................................ 370
Character Sheet..................................................... 373Open Game License.............................................. 375
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IntroDuctIon In theyear2320,humanity isattempting toclaim the
stars as his own. Despite nearly destroying himself in the
TwilightWar,despiteallthewarssince, includingawarfor
survival against a genocidal alien race, humanity has held
on,andkeptthedreamalive.2320AD isthestoryofthatdream,ashumanity, thoughstill retrenchingafter the long
yearsoftheKaferWar,reachesbackouttothestars.
In2320AD,humanityhassettled33inhabitableworlds,andhasoutpostsonmanymore.Humanspaceisdividedinto
threeArms:French,American,andChinese(namedforthe
dominant nation exploring it). The shape of these Arms is
dictatedbythelimitationsinherentinstutterwarptravel:the
7.7 lightyear range,and travelbetween theworldsat the
centerandtheworldsoftheedgecantakeweeks,oreven
months.
AtthecenterofHumanspacearetheCoreWorldsof
EarthandTirane.TiraneisthehabitableplanetofAlphaCen-
tauri,andisaneartwintoEarthinclimate,gravityandatmo-
sphere.Thesetwoworldstogetherhavenearly90%ofthe
Humanpopulation,with90%ofthattotalresidingonEarth.
FormostpeoplelivingoutintheFrontier,theworldsofthe
Coreareasdistantandstrangeasanyalienhomeworld.
2320ADgamesrangefrominterstellarexplorationandinterstellarwar,downtothegrittystreetsandthemega-cities
ofthehumanCore.Thisisagameaboutpeople,andtheir
risetothestars.Aliensareapartofthe2320ADmilieu,andcanbeusedasPlayerCharactersifdesired,butthefocusof
thegameisonHumans.
2320ADstrivestoobeythelawsoftheuniverseasweknow them.The stutterwarpdrive, the technology thatal-
lowshumanitytotravelfasterthanlight,isthesoledeparture
fromthis.Someoftheothertechnologiesbendthe lawsa
little,butthat’sfromthestandpointofhere-and-now.Three
hundredyearsinthefutureisalongtime.Therearenoblast-
ersorlaserswordsin2320AD,nomagicanti-gravityorar-tificialgravity–justgunsandhelicopters,spinhabitatsand
spaceplanes.Atthesametime,though,2320ADisagame,notahard-and-fasttechnicalsimulation.
SPACE TRAVEL Forover150years,humanityhashad the freedomof
the stars, but the hardest part remains getting into space.
Stutterwarpdrivesareused tocross thevastgulfbetween
stars,asitallowsFTL(faster-than-light)travelatspeedsupto
5lightyearsormoreperday.Fortravelwithinastarsystem
only, so-called system ships use low-power variants of the
standardstutterwarpdrive,whichstillprovideveryhighef-
fectivespeedswithinasystem.
NATIONS AND POLITICS In 2320AD, national interests continue to dominatepolitics, though the influenceof transnational corporations
(TransNats)andtheFoundationsispronouncedaswell.Many
of the nations of today are still recognizable in this future
world,includingAmerica,Britain,France,Germany,Canada
andAustralia,alongwithmanyothers.Foundationsarenon-
governmentorganizations,usually self-funded, thatpursue
theirownagendas,usually in supportof science, coloniza-
tion,humanitarian,orenvironmentalcauses,whiletheTrans-
Natspursuemoremundanegoalsofprofitandpower.
COLONIES Humanity has 52 colonies on 33 worlds, along with
scatteredoutposts,enclaves,miningcampsandsciencesta-
tions.Theoff-worldpopulationisasignificantfractionofthe
Earth-boundpopulation,andforsomenations(France,Brit-
ain,Germany,Australia)theoff-worldpopulationisactually
greater.Thesecoloniesexistforanumberofreasons,butone
ofthemostimportantisnationalpride–onlymajornations
havecolonies.Coloniesarealsousedtoproviderawmateri-
alsforhomenationindustries,andmarketsfortheproducts
of those industries,andalsoserveasasafetyvalve for the
massivepopulationof Earth. For thosewhocanno longer
standthesurveillanceandcontrolappliedtosuchlargepopu-
lations,thecoloniesofferahaven,freefromtheever-present
camerasandconstantmonitoring.
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ALIENS In 200 years of star travel, humanity has encountered
eightsentientraces,witharcheologicalevidenceforatleast
threemore.Humanityhasgonetowarwithtwooftheserac-
es.Thefirstwar,versustheSung,wasanabsolutevictoryfor
thehumans,lastingonlyafewweekswithminimalcasualties
onbothsides.Thesecond,against theaggressiveandhor-
rificallyviolentKafers,lastedforfifteenyearsanddevastated
anentirearmofHumanspace.Thoughhumanityeventually
triumphed,theenemywaits,heldatbaybutstilldangerous.
STUTTERWARP Thefaster-than-lightstutterwarpdriveisfurtherdetailed
inChapter 16: Space Travel,buthereareafewbrieffacts:
Stutterwarpbecomeineffectiveatabout0.11G,orap-
proximatelygeosynchronousorbit, andarenot suitable for
interfaceoperations.Attemptingtooperatewithinthisrange
risksdestroyingtheship.Thestutterwarpdriverequirestan-
talum,oneof the rarestelements inknownspace, though
eachdriveonlyrequiressmallamounts.
Stutterwarpvesselsbuildupachargewhilethedriveis
operating and moving in unstressed space. The buildup of
thischargelimitstherangeofstutterwarpvesselsto7.7light
years.Exceedingthisrangecancausethetantalumcoilatthe
heartofthedrivetodecayandemitdeadlyamountsofradia-
tion,usuallykillingthecrew.
Until relatively recently, stutterwarp drives could only
becalibratedandbroughtonline in stressedspace, that is,
regions of space within the 0.0011 G limit of a planet or
star.Thedrivecalibratorchangedthat,allowingdrivestobe
broughtonlineindeepspace.However,thefirstgeneration
ofthesecalibratorswasfartoolargeforconvenientuse.In
2299,thesecondgenerationdrivecalibratorwasdeveloped,
allowingthecreationofthefirstusablestutterwarptugs.
Stutterwarp tug technology isdesigned to subvert the
normal range limitation. Todo this, one vessel, the carried
vessel,musttakeitsstutterwarpdriveoffline.Theotherves-
sel, the tug, thengrapples to it. The tug carries the vessel
outtoamaximumof3.85lightyears,halfthetug’srange.
The tug then brings the carried vessels drives online using
thedrivecalibrator,andreturns.Thecarriedvesselcanthen
travelanother7.7lightyears,foramaximumrangeof11.55
lightyears.Notethattoreturntheremustbeatugonthe
otherend.Ifthecarriedvessel’sdrivesarenotoffline,itwill
buildupachargeasitiscarriedalongbythetug,andsuffer
adrivebreakdownandirradiationoftheshipasitpassesthe
7.7lightyearlimit.
ADVENTURES 2320AD is an adventure-oriented game. Players cantakeon anumberof roles, from freelance security experts
to hotshot smugglers. While the organizations outlined in
Chapter 5: Foundations, Corporations and Terroristscan
certainlyplayalargerole,charactersdonotneedtobebe-
holdentothem.Asmallgangoffreelanceinvestigators,ora
groupoffriendsharingoffintothewildsonatreasuresearch,
isjustasviableasagroupoftroubleshooterscontractedby
a TransNatwhogo fromworld toworld solvingproblems,
andgettingintotroubleontheside.Theemphasisofthese
adventuresisuptoeachgrouptodecide.2320ADcanbehometohighadventure,with lotsofgun-fights,desperate
chasesandswingingoverravinesonropes,aswellasmore
cerebral pursuits suchas researchingEber ruinsorhacking
databases.
ALIENS:Thetablebelowprovidesaquickoverviewofthealienracesin2320ADRace Description NotesEber Big,withlongarms,veryceremonial Destroyedtheirinterstellarcivilizationinawar.Sung Short,reptilianflyers,almostonparwithhuman-
ityintermsoftechnology.LostabriefwarwithHumansovertheXiang.
Xiang Artisticandveryalienspider-likecreatures. EnslavedbytheSunguntilfreedbyHumans.Kafers Big and strong, with complicated, frightening-
lookingmouthsandaturtle-likecarapace.Violent and hostile. Star-faring. Get smart whenthreatenedorhurt.
Klaxuns Intelligent,near-sightedplants. NearlydestroyedbyKafers.Primitive.LittleGuys Short, furry dog-faced humanoids with four
arms.Nearlydestroyedthemselvesinsystem-widewar.
Pentapods Short,vaguelyresemblea5-limbedoctopus. Masters of biotechnology. Even their starships areorganic.Star-faring.
Ylii Raceisactuallyseveralseparatespeciesthatliveandworktogether.
Advancedandpacifistic.Have lostmanyworlds totheKafers.Star-faring.
AGRA Extra-dimensional entityofunknown,buthigh,power.
Rearranging the Pleiades for some unknown proj-ect.
Aquilans Vanishedraceofunknownappearance. Interstellar civilization seemingly abandoned, butfilledwithtraps.
Medusae Small,somewhatresemblea10-limbedflea. Advancedtechnology,vanishedEnemy Appearanceunknown. Advancedtechnology,vanished.EnemyofMedusae
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2320AD AND 2300 AD 2320AD is an adaptation of the 2300 AD game,originallypublishedbyGameDesigners’Workshopin1988.
2320ADisasourcebookforusewithTraveller D20,andrequires the Traveller’s Guidebook or the Traveller’s Handbook. The character generation system uses mostoftheClasses,Skills,andFeatsoutlinedintheTraveller’s Guidebook.
2320AD AND TRAVELLER Despite making use of the Traveller D20 rules,2320ADisnotTraveller.Itissetinauniverseofitsown,without any relation to the Official Traveller Universe(OTU). 2320AD is much smaller in scope as well, dealingwitha“mere”33settledworlds,comparedtothe11,000of
theOTU.Thelevelsandtypesoftechnologyarelikewisedif-
ferent,inparticularthemethodoffaster-than-lighttravel,as
wellascomputersandvehicles.Therearesimilarities,how-
ever.Bothareaboutpeopleinfar-futuresettings,wherestar
travelisubiquitous,bothfocusonthepeopleinvolved,rather
thantheirequipment,andbothstrivetomaintainarealistic
worldview,takingintoaccounttheirhistoriesandtechnolo-
gies.
2320ADisgrittierthanT20,withmoreofanemphasison“realistic”technology.Thestarshipsalsotendtobealot
smaller.Insteadof50,000dtoncruiserssocommoninT20, 2320AD has 900 dton cruisers, with the absolute largestshipsbeingaround20,000dtons.
2320AD AND TWILIGHT: 2000 2320AD is the future of Twilight: 2000. 2320ADglossesoverthetimelineoftheTwilightWar,sothewarcould
stillbeinourfuture,ortheuniverseofTwilight: 2000and2320AD could be an alternate one (the approach takenin the later revisionsofTwilight: 2000 itself).Twilight: 2000isoneofthereasonsfortheapparentlyslowpaceoftechnologicaladvancementinthe2320ADgame,asmuchenergywasspentonrebuildingEarthaftertheWar,andthen
thatenergywentintodevelopingandperfectingthestutter-
warpdrive.Colonialeffortsalsotookagreatdealofenergy,
timeandresources,withmostscientificadvancescomingin
thevenueofspacetravelandthetrialsoflivingandworking
inhostileenvironments.Wehavedeliberatelyleftituptothe
playersandGMstochoosethetimingoftheTwilightWar,
whether it occurs in1995-2000, as in theoriginal version,
or2005,or2020,orwhenever.However, theTwilightWar
didhappen,anditseffectsareimportanttothehistoryand
characterof2320AD.
THE NEAR STAR LIST AND STAR MAP Oneof themore interesting (andoccasionally conten-
tious)partsofthegameistheNearStarList(NSL).Thiscom-
prehensivelistofstarswithina50lightyearradiusofEarth
wasbasedonthe1969Gliesestellarsurvey,whichatthetime
theoriginalgameof2300 ADwaspublished,wasthemostaccuratestarlisteverproducedforagame.Mostofthestars
arenamedbytheircataloguenumber,nameslikeDM+4123.
Thecitizensofthestarscirclingtheseworldsusuallygivethe
staranothername,butfewgovernmentsrecognizethese.
The list isused togeneratea3-D starmap.All stellar
coordinates in2320ADaregiven in the formatx,y,z,withtheSolsystembeingat0,0,0.
2320AD stilluses theold1969Gliesecatalog, ratherthanthenewerGlieseII,HipparcosorRECONScatalogs.This
wasdonetoensurecompatibilitywiththebackgroundand
historyofthegame.
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BAcKGrounDTHE TWILIGHT WAR The Twilight War started over 300 years ago, and re-
mainedconventionalforabouttwoyears.Thenthemissiles
andsuicidenukesstartedtostrike.Withinanotherthreeyears
nearlyhalfthepopulationofEarthlaydeadordyingfroma
combination of nuclearwar and its brethren of panic, dis-
easeandstarvation.Thenationalgovernmentsinmostcases
collapsed,orunderwentschisms.Manymilitaryunitsfound
themselvescutoffandontheirown.Somerebelled, some
triedtheirbesttoobeytheirlastorders,somemerelytriedto
gethome.Fewnationsretainedanysortofcentralcontrol.
Francewasoneofthefewthatdid,andthiswouldbeoneof
themostimportantpoliticalfactorsforthenext300yearsof
humandevelopment.
THE AGE OF RECOVERY (21ST CENTURY) The destruction of the Twilight War encompassed the
entireglobe,anddidnotendwhenthebombsstoppedfall-
ing.Thedownwardslidecontinuedfortwodecadesafterthe
warended.Thoughthephysicaldestructionwaslargelylim-
itedtothewarzone(NorthAmerica,Europe,theIndiansub-
continent,andChina),theeffectswerefeltworld-wide.Just
asdestructiveasthebombswasthecollapseoftheworld’s
economy, and the global transportation and distribution
network.Ocean shippingwas vulnerable tonaval action
throughout thewar,andneutrally-flaggedshipswereno
exception.Thelossofmuchoftheworld’sindustrialcapac-
itypreventedmaritimeshipping frombeing rebuilt,even
aftertheendofthewar.OnlyJapanretainedavestige
ofamerchantfleet,anditdominatedwhatwas
leftofworldtradeintheimmediatepostwar
years.
The21stcenturywasmarkedbythree
importantevents: the FuelCrisis (and the
end of dependence on fossil fuels), the
FrenchPeace,andtheMelbourneAccords.
The Fuel Crisis:WorldWar IIIdestroyed theworld’soilrefineriesandoilfields,butitsgreatesteffectwasthede-
structionoftheworld’soildistributionnetwork.OnceWorld
War IIIwasover, theoil distributionnetworksweregradu-
ally reestablished,butgreatprogress towardalternative fu-
els hadbeenmade in the interim. The valueof petroleum
asachemicalfeedstockwastoogreatbythemiddleofthe
centurytocontemplatesimplyburningit.Thedeclineinoil
reserves,coupledwiththeneedforpetrochemicalfeedstock,
pushed theadaptationofalternative fuels.Rationingofoil
and restrictionson its usewere requiredduring the transi-
tionperiod,butby2090,mostoftheworld’sindustrialized
nationshadestablishedtheirownhydrogendistributionnet-
works,andmostoftheworld’sindustrialpowerwassupplied
bysolarpowersatellitesorbitingtheEarth.
The French Peace:Intothepowervacuumwhichfol-lowedWorldWar III steppedtheonlyEuropeannationnot
devastated by the fighting: France, which had withdrawn
fromNATOand sealed its borders at the start of theWar.
Withitsnumerousandfar-flungterritoriesontheAfricancon-
tinentandinthePacific,Francereestablishedacommercial
interestinpeacefulworldtradeandcalminternationalrela-
tions.Frenchpowerwasprojectedtoresolvedisputesamong
quarrelingnations,butFrenchnationalpolicywasnotovertly
imperialistic.By2060,theFrenchwerepoliticallyinvolvedin
virtuallyeveryregionintheworld,andFrenchmilitaryforces
imposedpeaceinthoseregions,albeitsometimesaveryun-
easyone.
The Melbourne Accords:Theworldreturnedtospaceinthe2040swithlimitedsurveillance,weather,
andcommunicationsatellitelaunches,andfollowedin
the‘50swithmannedmissions.Bytheendofthecen-
tury,near-Earthorbitwasclutteredwithsolarpower
satellitesandorbitalfactories.Theconquestofspace
naturally produced disputes concerning territoriality,
access to orbits, and the appropriateness of specific
targetsinconflicts.Acontinuinginternationaldis-
cussion culminated in a series of treaties and
agreements collectively known as the Mel-
bourne Accords (first signed at Melbourne,
Australiain2099).
TheMelbourneAccordshad threemajor
provisions: Certain orbits around Earth
were demilitarized, power satellites prop-
erly operated and certified were classified
asciviliantargets(ratherthanasmilitarytargets),andother
worlds(atthattimetheMoon,Mars,Mercury,andtheJovian
satellites)weredeclaredopentocolonizationbyallnations,
andplaced limitsonsuchcolonization.TheMelbourneAc-
cordsboundsignatoriestoitsprovisionsonlywithrespectto
othersignatories.Manysmallernationssignedimmediately;
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holdoutsamongthemajorpowersincludedtheESA(France,
Bavaria,Britain,andAzania, the successor toSouthAfrica)
andCanton.Cantonsignedin2108whiletheESAdidnot
signuntil2163.
MAJOR WARS ThewarsofthecenturyfollowingtheTwilightwarwere
characterizedbystrugglesfortheresourcesneededtosurvive
andrecover.MexicoseizedportionsoftheAmericansouth-
west, including Texas, parts of New Mexico, Arizona and
southern California, for their resources, both mineral and
technological.Americawastoobusyfightinganewcivilwar
tointervene.Themulti-national,French-ledforcethatoccu-
piedSaudiArabiaprovidedanothergoodexampleofthissort
ofwar,shortandintense,withaclearpurpose.Likewisethe
warbetweenCantonandIndochina20yearslaterwasover
oil,andtheill-fatedattemptbyRussiatoconquerUkrainein
2065wasforthelatternation’sresources.Thesewarswere
instrumental indecidingwhichnationswouldprosper,and
whichwouldn’t.
THE SECOND AGE OF EXPLORATION (22ND CENTURY) Theconquestofspaceopenedanewfron-
tiertoEarth,and,naturally,anageofexplora-
tion followed. Expeditions to Mars by France
and,later,Americawerelaunchedearlyinthe
century, along with expeditions to Mercury
conducted by Manchuria. Later expeditions
visitedtheasteroidsandthemoonsofJupiter,
buttheSecondAgeofExplorationwouldhave
died ratherquickly if ithadbeenconfined to
justtheSolarSystem.
In2086,thetheoreticalbasisforapractical
stardrivewasestablished,andby2100,severalre-
searchestablishmentswerewellontheirwaytodem-
onstratingaprototype.Theraceforastardriveoccupiedthe
technologicalabilitiesofthemajorworldpowersforthefirst
halfofthe22ndCentury.
During the race to perfect a working star drive, the
majornationsweregainingconsiderableexpertise in space
travelwithintheSolarSystem.Itwasduringthistimethatthe
firsttruespacehabitatswereestablishedattheEarth-Moon
LagrangepointsofL4andL5.Thesespacehabitatswereto
providethemodel for thespace-based interstellaroutposts
tocome,whilethesettlementsontheMoonandMarsgave
themuch-neededexperienceforbuildingtheground-based
outposts,andevencolonies,thatweretofollow.
The first working starship was produced by the Euro-
peanSpaceAgency in2136; itsmembers (France,Bavaria,
Great Britain, and Azania) developed the technology and
jointlyoperated the shipand its successors. Thefirstexpe-
ditiontoAlphaCentauridiscoveredagardenplanet,which
waspromptly claimed for themembernationsof theESA.
Withinshortorder,Argentina,China,andAmericabuiltand
launchedtheirownstarshipsonexpeditionstoAlphaCen-
tauri,Barnard’sStar,andWolf359.
The Eclipse of France:UndertheFrenchPeace,thenationsoftheworldwereabletorecoverandprosper.Inevi-
tably,somecametoresentFrenchdomination,andasthey
becomemorepowerful,theycompetedforpowerandinflu-
encewithFrance.At the same time, theburdensofworld
leadershipprovedverycostlytoFrance,already
economicallystretchedinmountinginter-
stellarexplorationmissions.
By 2150, French power in the
worldwasdecaying;othernationswere
quicktosideagainstFranceinminordis-
putes.IntheAlphaCentauriWar,Argen-
tinaanditsalliesdefeatedtheFrench-led
ESA.Thishumiliationmarkedalowpoint
in Frenchprestige, andbroughtabouta
col- lapse in the French government, as well as
reorientationofgovernmentpolicies. Itwas
theendoftheFrenchPeace,andthebe-
ginningofaneweraofglobalconflict.
Stellar Exploration: Expe-d i t i o n s over the rest of the century explored to
The Alpha Centauri War: TheAlphaCentauriWarwasaboutnothinglessthanthe right of all nations to settle the new worlds being
foundbeyondEarth’ssolarsystem.WhentheESAdiscov-
eredthegardenworldorbitingAlphaCentauri,themem-
bernations immediately claimed it all.Argentinaand its
alliesobjected,andsentarmedships to thesystem.The
warwasa long,drawn-outaffair,aseachsideanxiously
awaitedinstructionsfromtheirgovernments. Intheend,
the ESAnations capitulated, andfinally signed the Mel-
bourneaccords.
The Tantalum War: TheTantalumwarof2142betweenIndonesiaand
Bengalwasn’tjustastruggleforthetantalumnecessary
toconstructstutterwarpdrives,butalsoastruggletode-
terminewhichnationwouldbeabletogotothestars.
Indonesia won the war, and though the tantalum find
wasnotas richas theyhadhoped, theyused tobuild
amerchantfleet thateventodaycarriesaconsiderable
fractionofallfreightmovedinHumanspace.
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about twenty light-years fromEarth, and settlementswere
establishedonabouttenextra-solarworlds.Worldscloseto
Sol sprouted many national colonies; the diversity enabled
coloniestoconcentrateonspecificindustriesandtradewith
the others for their needs. But as nations explored farther
fromEarth,eachwasabletocolonizewholeworldsandex-
ploitthemwithoutcompetitionfromothernations.
Theopeningofthestarstocolonizationmovedmuchof
Earth’s conflictbeyond the solar system.Conflictsbetween
themajor(thatis,thestar-faring)powerstookplaceoncol-
onyandoutpostworldswheretheyfoughtforrightstoprime
territories, access to markets, or proper treatment of their
ownnationals.WaronEarthwaseitheranextensionofthese
extra-solarconflicts,orminorwarsbetweennonstar-faring
nations.
By2199,theSecondAgeofExplorationwasdrawingto
aclose.Earthhadexploredpartsofasphereouttotwenty
light-years andestablished coloniesdedicated toexploiting
theresourcesofmanyvirginworlds.
THE SECOND AGE OF COMMERCE (23RD CENTURY) Explorationbreedscommerce;territorialdiscoveriesnat-
urally revealproducts thatcanbemarketed.Evenwith the
highcostof interstellartravel,therearealwayssomeprod-
ucts,services,metals,andinformationthatcanstillbecarried
ataprofit.Withthediscoveryandsettlementofstarsystems
beyondEarth,the23rdcenturywasaneraoftrade.
Thestar-faringnationsbuiltfleetstoservicetheircolo-
nies.Evenaself-sufficientcolonyisuselessifitcan’tprovide
feedback,products, information,or resources to itsparent.
Hullscarryingcoloniststothestarsaremostefficientwhen
they carry products and rawmaterials on their return voy-
ages.
Early in the 23rd century, France began to re-exert its
powerinselectedregionswhereitsinterestswereimportant:
Africa,thePacific,andtheMid-East.Avoidingdirectconfron-
tationwithrivalssuchasArgentina,Mexico,andManchuria,
Francewasabletorebuilditsmilitarystrengthandreputation
overthecourseofdecades.WhenFrancefoughtbattles, it
won;whenitnegotiated,italsowon.Whatitcouldn’twin,
itscrupulouslyavoided.By2250,Francewasnearlyasuper-
power.
Developments on Earth, however, did not come to a
standstill because of interstellar exploration. International
rivalries,populationpressures,andideologicaldisputescon-
tinued.ThenationsofLatinAmericastruggledthroughthree
RioPlataWarsasArgentinaandBrazilfoughtforsupremacy
ontheircontinent.Vietnam,asourceofcheaplaborearlyin
the century, industrialized to thepoint that itwas aprime
plumcovetedbybothCantonandIndonesia.TheCanton-In-
donesianWar(2264to2268)turnedSoutheastAsia intoa
warzoneandmadethe IndochinaPeninsulaarestiveCan-
tonesepuppet-state.
The Rio Plata Wars:ConflictonEarthduringthiscen-turywasdominatedbyaseriesofwarsbetweenBraziland
Argentina,thoughtheconflictintheCentralAsianRepublic
hadfargreaterconsequences.TheRioPlatawarswerewar
forterritory,andsee-sawedbetweenthetwonationsinthree
warsthatcollectivelyspannedovernineyearsandtensions
thatspannedoverfifty.BytheendoftheThirdWar,Argen-
tinawasabletocreatetheIncanRepublicinanattemptto
reduceBrazil’spowerinthenorthernpartofSouthAmerica.
ThetermsofthefinaltreatysawBrazillosetheheadwaters
oftheAmazontothenascentnation,acalculatedmovede-
signedtohumiliatethem.
Gene Protests:Thedevelopmentof theDNAmodi-fication technology late in the22nd centurywas a triumph
of biotechnology. However, as the full ramifications of the
technologybegantobeunderstoodbythegeneralpopula-
tion,oppositiontohumanapplicationsbegantogrow.The
Kingmodificationinparticulararousedtheireofthepopula-
tion,asthenewcitizensofKingswereveritablesupermen,
andthedrawbacksofthemodificationwerenotfullyunder-
stoodatthetime.TheGeneProtestsgrewintoaworld-wide
movement, and resulted in virtual moratorium on further
DNAmodificationprojects.Atleastofficially,allhumanDNA
modificationexperimentsceased.
First Contacts: Given the number of inhabitableworlds, itwas accepted as inevitable that humanity would
meetotherintelligencesamongthestars.Duringthesecond
halfofthe23rdcenturyandearlyyearsofthe24th,Human
explorersencounteredatleastsevenintelligentspecies,four
ofthemspace-faring.Evidencewasalsofoundtosuggestat
leasttwoormorealienraceshadinhabitedtheregioninthe
past,withareal, if remote,possibilityof their return.With
thesefirstcontactscameincreasedculturaldiversityintothe
increasing convergent human culture. Academic investiga-
tionofthesealienculturesprovidednewinsightsintoEarth’s
cultures,bothpastandpresent.
The Slaver War: The Slaver War was the first warfoughtbyHumanityagainstanalienenemy.TheSung,first
contacted in 2257, were a race that, much like humanity,
wasdividedupintonationsandspecial-interestgroups.They
wereadvanced,withextensiveoperations throughout their
solarsystem.However,theylackedknowledgeofthestutter-
warpdrive.TheAkcheetoonnationwasthemostpowerful
oftheSungnation-states,andhadacolonyonthehabitable
moonofthesystem’slargegasgiant.Thiscolonywasprimar-
ilyaminingcolonyusingwhatwereatfirst thought tobe
localanimalsforlabor.Itwasn’tuntilfurtherexaminationby
aNorthAmericanResearchLeagueundercoverteamthatis
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waslearnedthatthese“animals”wereinfactanintelligent
race,theXiang.
ThisledtopublicoutcryonEarth,anddemandsthattheslavesbefreed.Humanrequests,andthendemands,upon
the Sung tohalt their activities on thegardenmoonwere
ignored,thoughtheSungremainedfriendlyinallotherdis-
courses.
Finally, fleet elements from Canada and Manchuria
movedin,andweremetbyAkcheetoonwarships,whore-
fused to surrender. Though the Human warships were not
travelingatFTLvelocities, theywerestill farenoughoutof
thegasgiant’sgravitywelltobeabletorunringsaroundthe
Sungvessels.ThesmallHumantaskforcewasabletodestroy
themassedalienfleetwithnolosses.Humaninfantryunits
werethenlandedonthemoontoisolateandreduceSung
securityforces,whilediplomaticeffortsontheSunghome-
world resulted in the isolationandeventual capitulationof
theAkcheetoonnation,andeventuallytheentireworld,to
Humanforces.
Economic Stagnation:Amongthecolonialpowers,thematurationoftheircoloniesledtoaneconomiccrisis.The
economiesofmanyoftheTier2andTier3nations(seep.
54)hadbeenstructuredalongmercantilistlines,wherethey
purchasedrawmaterialsfromthecoloniesandinreturnthe
coloniespurchasedfinishedgoodsfromthehomenations.By
themiddleofthe23rdcentury,however,manyofthecolonies
ontheAmericanandFrenchArmswerelargelyindependent,
orconductedtheirtradewithothercolonies.Thisdisrupted
thebalanceof trade,as themothernations stillpurchased
raw materials from the colonies, but the colonies for their
parthadlessneedofthefinishedgoodsthemothernation
couldprovide.Thiseconomicslumpaccountsforthelackof
colonialeffortsbymanyoftheestablishedTier2andTier3
powersduringthisperiod.Mostofthecolonizationprograms
ofthesecondhalfofthe23rdcenturywerebyemergingTier
3powerslikeBrazilandCanada.
The Decline of Nationalism: Easy travel on andoffEarthenabledmanypeopletomaintainmobilelife-styles
without a permanent residence. Some people (explorers,
starship crew, and orbital industrial workers) found them-
selvestaxedonthebasisofgeography,butnotreceivingany
real benefit from those taxes.Others founddeferenceand
statuscamewithnationalcitizenshipratherthanmerit.Some
interest groups created their own non-territorial “nations”
to better protect their interests. Others rejected nationality
completely.
Atthesametime,morepeoplecametophilosophically
rejectnationalism,findingmoreincommonwithethnic,re-
ligious, ethical, or professional values. The proper national
citizenship remainedaconvenience (awrongonecouldbe
ahindrance),butmanypeoplehadcometofeelthatthere
werehighervaluesthanmeregeographicallegiance.
The Central Asian War: The Central Asian War(2283-2287)eventuallyinvolvedFrance,Bavaria,Russiaand
Japan arrayed against the imperial armies of Manchuria.
Manchuria lost thewar,butFrenchprestigewasbrokenas
theywereforcedtoacceptJapaneseassistancetodrivethe
ManchurianforcesoutoftheCentralAsianRepublic.
War of German Reunification: France’s loss ofprestige led directly to the War of German Reunification
(2292-2293). The German province of Hanover, sensing
Frenchweakness,movedtoreunitethescatteredprovinces
ofGermany,separatesincetheTwilightWar,intoonecohe-
sivewhole.Franceresisted,andGermantroopscrossedthe
RhineandmovedonParis.Onlyaquicksurrenderprevented
theGermansfromsailingtheirhovertanksundertheArc de
Triomphe.
The French Empire:ThecostlyFrenchvictoryintheCentralAsianWarin2287producedwell-groundedcharges
ofpoorsupportandsupplyforthearmy.In2289,thearmy
stagedacoupwhichthrewoutthe12thRepublicandestab-
lishedasystemofmonopoliesinvitalindustries.Thesemo-
nopolieswereprofitable for thecontractors,but inefficient
sourcesofsupply;andwithtypicalmilitarythinking,thejunta
printedmoneytopaynationaldebts.Theresultwasrunaway
inflation and tremendous social unrest. When the armed
forcescouldnotstoporwintheWarofGermanUnification
ortheFlemishWarofIndependencewhichfollowedin2293,
thearmywasforcedtoallowfreeelections,whichwerema-
nipulatedtobringNicholasRuffin,aprominent industrialist
andfree-marketadvocate,topower.Underhispolicies,the
The Rise and Fall of the German Nation: Forcenturies,theGermannationsofEurope(Bavar-
ia,Hanover,Westphalia,Saxony,andBrandenburg)were
content to live in the shadow of France. French-domi-
natedBavariaenjoyedmembershipinESA,flewstarships
underitsownnationalcolors,andcolonizedworldsun-
derothersuns.TheotherGermanstatesalternatelyal-
liedwithFranceandBavaria,withotherpowers,orchose
theirownpaths.
Inthe2280s,withgrowingsentimentforreunifica-
tion,alltheGermannationsbutBavariaacceptedacall
byHanovertounite.TheythenmobilizedtobringBavar-
ia into theGermannation.Frenchobjectionsproduced
theshortWarofGermanReunification,inwhichFrance
wasdefeatedandforcedtoacceptthecreationofanew
Germanstate.ThatFrancewasdefeatedonlyduetoher
heavyinvolvementacrosstheglobeandonhercolonies
isnotoftenmentioned.Continuedinternalstrifeinthe
newGermannation,inparticularintheformerBavarian
colonies,createdschismsinGermansocietythatresulted
inmanyofthesecoloniesgoingoffontheirown.
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Frencheconomyreboundeddramatically.Carefulmediahan-
dlingintheyearsleadinguptothe2298electionproduceda
Frenchpopulationreceptivetotheideaofestablishinganew
empire.Inclusionofthequestioninaplebisciteattachedto
the2298electionsledtotheformationoftheThirdEmpire,
withRuffinastheEmperor,bylate2298.
The Kafer War: Theotherwarfoughtagainstanalienracedidnotgonearlysowellforhumanity.Thewarstarted
withanunprovokedattackontheHumanresearchoutpost
orbiting the star Arcturus in 2297, and eventually encom-
passedmostofwhathadbeen the richest,mostpopulous
coloniesinHumanspace.
AN UNSETTLED TIME: 2300 – PRESENT ThewaragainsttheKafersdominatedthefirsttwode-
cadesofthenewcentury.Evenwiththeirpartialdefeat,the
effectsoftheirinvasionandthesubsequentdevastationwill
continuetobefeltfordecadestocome.Thelatterpartofthis
period,however,ismarkedbyincreasinghumanexploration,
bothinscopeandinspeed.Partofthisisduetoadesireto
findresourcestorepairthedamageofthelastwar,andpart
istomakesurenothingelseisouttheresneakinguponhu-
manity.
THE FLIGHT OF THE BAYERN OneofthemostsignificantendeavorsofHumanitywas
theflightoftheBayern,whichopenedawholenewregion
of space to human exploration, the so-called Bayern corri-
dor,atwistedlineofstarsreachingover200lightyearsinto
spacefromtheHumanworlds,thoughstoppingwellshortof
thePleiades.TheBayernwasthemostadvancedexploratory
starshipeverconstructed,builtbytheAstronomischen Re-
chen-Institut,aBavarian(nowGerman)sciencefoundation.
The shipwasdesigned to reach thePleiades,a star cluster
nearly400lightyearsawayfromEarth,andemployedmul-
tiple,disposabledrivesalongwithamassivedrive tuner to
bridgeagapnearthestartofitsjourney.Thegapwas15.1
light yearsacross, and required thevessel todumpadrive
coreanduseanotherindeepspace,usingthedrivetunerto
bringitonline.
At the beginning of its journey, the Bayern traveled
through alien Pentapod space, getting the first Human
glimpseofthePentapodhomeworld,andmappingoutthe
smallclusterofstarsknownasthePentapodFinger.Along
thewaytothePleiades,theBayernencounteredthreealien
races: the so-called“LittleGuys”, the entity knownas the
AGRAIntelligence,andanunknown(andhostile)starshipor
spacestationinanotherwiseuninhabitedsystemalongthe
way.
The1-meter tall, four-armed“LittleGuys”were survi-
vorsofasystem-widecivilizationthathaddestroyeditselfin
awarthatdwarfedeventheTwilightWarinscale.Withthe
realizationthatEarthhadonlynarrowlyescapedasimilarfate
itself,theplightofthe“LittleGuys”generatedagreatdeal
of sympathy from Earth, even as the French Arm suffered
increasingdestruction.Thediscoveryofabrowndwarfthat
provideda linkacross the15.1 lightyeargapbetweenthe
PentapodFingerandtheBayernCorridor,coupledwithstut-
terwarptugsoperatedbytheTriloncorporation,allowedthe
firstreliefexpeditionsthroughinthemid-2310s.
Thoughthe“LittleGuys”hadveryhumanconcernsof
survival,theentityknownastheAGRAIntelligencewasut-
terlyunfathomable.ThePleiades star clusterappears tobe
the location of a vast engineering project for this being,
or perhapsgroupof beings. Thepurposeof this project is
unknown,but it involvesmovingand linking stars in some
mannerofmulti-dimensionalconstruct.Theexactnatureof
AGRAisunknown,butitisthoughttoexistasahigher-level
entity,anextra-dimensionalbeing.
The lastalienspecies,anunknownraceof theBayern
corridor, dubbed Argyle 692 after the system they were
encountered in, is further discussed in Chapter 8: Alien
Space.
THE KAFER WAR TheKaferWarisgenerallyacknowledgedtohavelast-
edfrom2298to2313,andconsistedoftwomainphases.
Thefirstbeganin2298,whentheKaferleader(orSuzerain)
known as Triumphant Destiny attacked the distant colony
worldofAurore.TheHumandefendersinspacewerewiped
out,and thousandsof troopswere landed.TheKaferfleet
waseventuallydrivenoff,onlytoreturn in2301withrein-
forcements.FromwhatinformationtheHumanintelligence
serviceswereabletoobtain,itappearsthatTriumphantDes-
tinywas able to recruit allies in the regionnowknownas
theKaferSphere,andreturnedin2301.Kaferforcesfound
adisorganizedHumanityonlybarelypreparedtofacethem,
andenjoyedgreat success for thefirst sixmonthsor soof
the war. One of the most devastating losses of this phase
wasthecolonyworldofHochbaden,aworldofdomedcities
andspacehabitats.BeforetheKaferattacks,Hochbadenhad
over4millionpeople.Afterwards,notasinglesurvivorcould
befound.
TheKaferfleetswereeventuallystoppedatQueenAl-
ice’sStar in2302bytheTerranReserveFleet,consistingof
warshipsfromAmerica,Britain,France,Germany,Australia,
Canada,Argentina,Azania,andJapan.TriumphantDestiny
Stutterwarp Tugs: Stutterwarptugsareamethodofbypassingthestrict
7.7 light year limit on stutterwarpdrive vessels. Further
detailscanbefoundinChapter16:SpaceTravel.
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waskilledinthebattle,andtheremainingKaferforceswere
scattered.Foratime,Humanitythoughtthewarwasover.
Contactwith thealien raceknownas theYlii eventu-
allyprovidedmoreintelligenceabouttheKafers,andHuman
planners realized that thewarwas far fromover.Very few
oftheKafer leadershadbeeninvolvedintheattackledby
TriumphantDestiny.Thosewhoremainedwereboundtobe
frightenedbytheresults.ThefleetledbyTriumphantDestiny
hadbeenthelargestfleetunderoneleaderassembledbyany
Kafer,andithadbeendefeated.Armedwiththisrealization,
theKaferOver-Suzerain(Humanintelligencewasneverable
to learn itsname)wasabletogetfleetandtroopcommit-
mentsfromalmosteveryotherSuzerain.Noneofthemcom-
mittedtheirfullstrength,however,toowaryofeachotherto
striptheirholdingsbare.
TheKaferfleet,consistingofover150capital-classves-
sels,invadedHumanspacein2305.Thisfleetoverwhelmed
thepicketshipsatArcturus,thenmovedontoDM+182776,
bypassing Eta Bootis and her determined defenders. This
wouldeventuallyprovetobeacostlymistakefortheKafers,
astheshipsatAurorewereabletoraidtheKaferrearforthe
nextfiveyearsof thewar.The tacticsof theOver-Suzerain
weremuchmoreconservativethanthoseofTriumphantDes-
tiny,andtheprogressoftheKaferfleetwasslow.Progress
was further hampered by the rate of mutiny on the Kafer
warships, which would go off on independent raids when
theircrewsgotbored.Thoughtheywereoftenaproblemfor
theKaferHighCommand,theseindependentraidsdidkeep
theHumandefendersoff-balance.
OneoftheprioritiesfortheOver-Suzerainwastocontrol
any world encountered that was suitable for Kafer habita-
tion.Thisusuallyhada largepartof thefleet remaining in
orbitaroundtheworldtoprovidesupportwhiletroopswere
landed.Theremainderofthefleetwouldconductreconnais-
sance-in-forceofthesurroundingsystems.Atypicallanding
saw15,000troopsandtheirequipmentgodown,witheven
moreonworldssuchasNousVoila,BetaCanum,andKiman-
jano.
Thesetacticswereslow,however,andgavetheHuman
defenderstimetoregroup.TheHumanfleetwassplit,with
elementsatEarth,QueenAlice’sStar,andAurore.SansSouci
wouldlaterplayaroleasastagingareaforFrenchforces.
Humanitywasforcedtoplayawaitinggameagainstthe
Kaferforces,andhopethatinternalstrifeintheKaferfleet,
combinedwith thedifficulties ofmaintaining an extremely
longandtenuoussupply linewouldgiveHumanitytheop-
portunitytheyneeded.
Kaferreconnaissanceforceswentintoeachnewsystem
withthetwingoalsofsurveyingalldeployeddefenses,and
alsoofcausingasmuchdamagetothosedefensesaspos-
sible.Often theywere forced tofleeHumanmainfleetel-
ements,but theHuman forceswereunable to follow,due
to theoverwhelmingnatureof themainKaferfleet.These
reconforcesoftenwereabletoorbitthecolonyworld,and
usedthetimeto landscoutingforcesandbombard impor-
tanttargets.
ThemostinterestingtacticemployedbytheKafersdur-
ing thewarwas theuseof so-called infiltrator forces. The
infiltratorswereatacticnotseenbefore,usingaclassofship
heretoforeunknown.Thecrewsoftheinfiltratorshipswere
allelitetroops,andthesmallvesselslandedonworldsweeks
priortoinvasion.TheinfiltratorsmadegooduseofYliienvi-
ronmental technologies toremainunseenastheygathered
intelligence.Thestealthyinfiltratorvesselswerealsousedto
conduct deep-penetration raids, either to damage supplies
andequipment,orsimplytosowpanicamongHumanforces
andcivilians.
Infiltrator raidswere responsible formuchof the refu-
geetraffictoleaveDunkelheim,NousVoila,Vogelheim,and
BetaCanum,manyofwhomweretrappedintheKimanjano
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systemwhentherecon-in-forceofearly2307destroyedthe
world’sorbital infrastructure,settingthestagefor the later
massedattackinmid-2307.
By2309,themainKaferfleet,muchreducedinsize,had
bypassed Beowulf and was making a drive for Earth. Only
the colony of Nibelungen stood in its way, along with the
expandedTerranReserve Fleet, ledbyAdmiralof the Fleet
Dame Samantha Warkington. In addition to those nations
that had contributed vessels to the original Reserve Fleet,
severalmorehadcontributedvessels, includingManchuria,
Indonesia,Freihafen,andWellon.ThecombinedHumanfleet
stoodat94maincombatants,plusahostoffighters,drone
fighters, and converted civilianmissile carriers.Against this
forcewere72capitalshipsoftheKaferfleet,withtherest
scattered back to Kafer space to protect their supply lines
fromHumanraiders.
Attheendofthebattle,theOver-Suzerain,alongwith
twootherSuzerains,wasdead,alongwithnearlyhalfofthe
Kafervessels.TwoSuzerainslivedtofleethebattlefieldwith
thetatteredremainsoftheirforces.TheHumanforceshad
sufferedalmost30%casualties,exceptfortheconvertedci-
vilianmissilecarriers,whichhadsufferedcloseto100%ca-
sualties.Thelattervesselshadbeencrammedwiththenew
smartmissiles,whichrequirednoHumancontrollers.Though
manyof theseweapons simply failed,ormissed, theypro-
videdanelementofconfusionfortheKafervessels,allow-
ingthemoreaccurateremote-pilotedmissilesthrough.The
convertedmissilecarrierswereabletomaintaintheirfirefor
overanhour,untilhuntedanddestroyedbyKaferfighters
andinfiltrators.
AfterthevictoryatNibelungen,theHumanforcesthen
wenton the counterattack, andmoved to liberate theoc-
cupiedcoloniesoftheFrenchArm.ThemainKaferfleethad
broken,andoffered little resistance to thiseffort.Only the
infiltratorvesselsputupanysortoffight,andcontinuedto
harassHumanvesselsevenwellaftertheendofthewar.
TheKaferfleetbrokeandfled,carryingwordofthede-
featbacktotheworldsoftheKafersphere.Severalofthe
shipsdroppedtheirtroopsatKimanjanoandDunkelheimon
thewayout, butmost dropped their remaining troopsoff
atNousVoila,whichhadbeenearlier devastatedbyKafer
orbitalstrikes.
In late 2311, human invasion fleets crossed the Kafer
frontier.Thehumanfleetswereaidedgreatlybytheturmoil
that had enveloped the Kafer sphere following the defeat
oftheOver-Suzerain’sfleetatNibelungen.Thatbeing’spre-
sumeddeathdidmuchtofosterthechaos,astheremaining
rivalSuzerain’sviedforpower.
The front-lineKafer worlds hadowed fealty to Trium-
phant Destiny, the leader of the original Kafer invasion in
2297,anditsdeathandthedestructionofmuchofitsfleet
in2303hadstrippedtheworldsofmanyoftheirdefenses.
Infightingover its succession, and aprior conflictwith the
Over-Suzerain, left these frontline worlds largely bereft of
theirdefensivefleets,whilethemoredistantworldsignored
thedefenseoftheSphereinpursuitoftheirowngoals.
Eschewing the slow tactics favored by the Kafers, the
HumanfleetsmadeadashforthehomesystemofGamma
Serpentis,whichwasanaturalchokepointbetweentherest
oftheKaferSphereandHumanspace.
In 2312, German Konteradmiral Wilhelm Lutke was
chargedwithscoutingouttheloopofworldsjustpastArc-
turus,offthemainpathofthehumanfleets.Theseworlds
wereoncethefiefofTriumphantDestiny,and,asnotedpre-
viously,werelargelystrippedoftheirfleets.Followingthein-
structionsoftheFrenchGrandAdmiralGeorgesMont-Clair
andLordAdmiralWarkington (thecommandersof thehu-
maninvasionfleet),LutkelandedtroopstodetermineKafer
preparednesstogroundinvasion.TheKaferswereverywell
prepared,andLutke lostagreatmanyofhis troops in the
initial landings.Enraged,andrespondingto intelligencere-
portsthattheseworldshadoncebelongedtothebeingthat
had destroyed Hochbaden, Lutke used his ships to bomb
theworld flat, usingnuclear and kinetic deadfallweapons
tocommitgenocide.Theextensiveorbitalhabitatssuffered
muchthesamefate,asLutkereenactedtheMassacreofHo-
chbadenuponthealiens.Lutke’sflagship,theBrandenburg,
was a new class of vessel, a planetary control cruiser, and
wasexpresslydesignedfororbitalbombardmentandsurface
control.AFrenchcourierattachedtoLutke’sfleetfledback
tothemainfleet,bearingthenewsoftheKonteradmiral’s
actions. The other habitable worlds in the loop were sub-
jectedtothesametreatment,andLutkeignoredordersfrom
Mont-Clairtostanddown.TheKafersnotkilledintheinitial
attacksperished later fromthecombinedeffectsof starva-
tion,nuclearwinteranddisease.Atleastoneoftheworldsof
theloopwassuitableforHumancolonization,butanysettle-
mentwouldhavetowaituntilsurfaceconditionsstabilized.
Once he was finished with the worlds of the Loop, Lutke
rushedhis squadron to join the attackon theKafer home
system.
Orbital Drop Assaults: A new tactic pioneered in the Kafer War with the
adventofbettercontrol technology,theorbitaldropas-
saultprovidesawaytoquickly insertcombatgroupsup
tocompany-sizedanywhereonaplanet,andthenback
them up with conventional assault landers later. Orbital
dropassaultsareconductedwithdropcapsules,eachcon-
tainingeitheratrooperandhisweapons,adecoy,remote
missiles,oracombatwalker.Timefromorbittogroundis
lessthan10minutes,andgivesthedroptroopersanele-
mentofsurpriseintheirattacksonKaferdefenses.
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AtGammaSerpentis, theKaferhomesystem,theHu-
man invader’s encountered very heavy resistance, though
notasheavyas they feared.TheotherKaferSuzerainsdid
not provide any ships to aid in the home world’s defense,
andthoughthesystem’sdefendersfoughtfanatically,itwas
tonoavail. IftheyhadhadsupportoftheotherSuzerains,
theymayhavebeenabletorepeltheHumaninvaders.Asit
was,theotherSuzerainsweretoobusyfortifyingthemselves
against the Humans or each other. Despite a 35% loss in
ships,includingDameSamantha’sHMSS Hood, theHuman
fleetgainedorbitalsuperiorityoverbothinhabitedworldsof
theKaferhomesystem.
Lutke’ssquadron,withBrandenburgatthelead,arrived
inorbitovertheKafercolonyworldofGammaSerpentisIV
asthemainbattlewasjoinedoverGammaSerpentisIII,the
Kaferhomeworld. The squadronquickly subdued the few
orbitalassetsovertheworld,acolonyofover500,000Kaf-
ers,andLutke’sfleetbeganabombardment.BoththeAmeri-
canandFrenchcommandersmovedtointervene,andfinally
LutkewasputunderarrestbythecommanderoftheGerman
contingent,AdmiralHorst vanGubler.Hewas immediately
shippedofftoEarthfortrial.
Thepuzzleofwhat todoabout theKaferworldshad
longbeengnawingatthemindsofbothmilitaryandcivilian
planners.OnefactionfavoredLutke’sapproach–genocide.
The other faction felt that the masses of Earth would not
stand for aHuman-created Twilight against an alien, intel-
ligent race, even with the destruction wreaked upon the
worldsoftheFrenchArm.
IncooperationwithasmallgroupofFrenchandBritish
officers,thePentapodsprovidedasolution.By2310,aPen-
tapod/Humanteamofmedicalresearchershaddecodedthe
biochemicalbasisforthepara-adrenalresponse,themeans
bywhichKafersgot“smart”whenthreatenedorconfronted
withviolence.By2311theyhaddevelopedameanstoinhibit
thepara-adrenalresponse.Theirsolutionwasaviralplague,
which could be spread through the Kafer population. The
Kafer lackofanyrealmedicalsciencefurther increasedthe
oddsofsuccess.ArmedwiththisPentapodweapon,theHu-
manofficersdevelopedaplanwithouttheapprovaloftheir
politicalleadership.
ThefirstwaveoftheHumaninvasionoftheKaferhome-
worldappearedtobeascoutingmission,andinawayitwas.
Someofthetroopswhowentdownwerespecialforces,who
remainedbehindtoprovideintelligenceandsupportforthe
landingthatwouldfollow.Mostofthetroops,though,were
volunteers,hailingfromworldslikeAurore,NousVoila,Beta
Canum,Dunkelheim,andKimanjano,worldsthathadseen
severedamageatKaferhandsthroughoutthewar.Afewof
thevolunteerssecretlyagreedtobe infectedwiththePen-
tapodvirus,whichhadnoknowneffectsonHumans.Most,
however,knewnothingof thevirus,or thepurposeof the
raid.Afewof theassaultboats,emptyof livingcrewsbut
carrying a cargo of the virus, “crashed” under automated
control,allconvenientlynearthelargestKafercities.TheHu-
manreconforcelandednearthelargestcityandtheworld’s
mainspaceport.Withinamonthofthelanding,mostofthe
populationoftheKaferhomeworldhadlosttheabilitytoget
“smart”and themostpopulousworld inKaferSpacewas
plungedintochaos.
Thenextwaveoflandingswasmuchlarger,andmuch
more successful.Humanity succeeded in establishingbases
ontheKaferhomeworld,whiletheworldtoreitselftopiec-
es.ManyKaferswerelargelyunaffected,beingpermanently
smart,andasmallnumberactuallyappearedtobeimmune,
buttheywerenotenough.TheycontinuetoharasstheHu-
manoccupationtroops,however,resultinginasteadytrickle
ofcasualtiesandcorpsesreturningtoHumanspacefromthe
KaferSphere.
Wordofwhathadhappenedonthehomeworldfiltered
outtotheremainderoftheKafersphere.Fearofthis“curse”
served tokeep the remainingKafer shipsand troopsaway
from Gamma Serpentis, and an uneasy, undeclared truce
exists.A fewKafer ships slippast theblockadeatGamma
Serpentis, while occasional human raiders likewise go ma-
rauding inKafer space,butneither side is currentlywilling
to take the risks necessary to attempt all-out conquest. In
addition,thelossoftheOver-Suzerain,andthesubsequent
collapseoftheKaferhomeworld,hasplungedtheremainder
oftheKaferSphereintoconflict,astheremainingSuzerains
struggletoattaintheresourcesneededforsurvival.
It is readilyapparenttomostmilitaryanalyststhatHu-
manitycouldhavewonthewarwithoutPentapodinterven-
AGRA and the Kafers: Intheearlyyearsofthewar,therewasconsiderable
pressureexertedbythepublicto“dosomething”about
theKafers.Genocidewasopenlydiscussed. Thenover
the course of five years, from about 2307 on, public
opinion shifted to support of a policy of containment.
In2307, theBayern returned from itsvoyage,and the
existenceofAGRAwasmadeknowntoselectnational
governments and Foundations. Several of the Founda-
tions voiced concern that, now that Humans had the
attention of AGRA, exterminating another intelligence
species might be a bad idea. If nothing else, no one
wantedtogivetheimmenselypowerfulbeingsrenovat-
ingthePleiadesanyideas.TheLifeFoundation,aidedby
theNorthAmericanResearchLeagueandseveralothers,
beganacampaignof“reprogramming”publicopinion
tofavorcontainmentratherthanextermination.Thesuc-
cessofthisprogramhasalarmedthenationsthatwere
alsoprivytotheoperation,astheyracetoduplicatethe
concept.
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tion.Once theHumanfleet controlled theorbital spaceof
GammaSerpentisIII,thewarwaseffectivelywon.Whatthe
Pentapodweapongavehumanitywastime,astheremaining
KafersintheSpherearetoofrightenedoftheweapon’sef-
fectstotryandretakethehomeworld,atleastuntiltheyget
theirinternalproblemssortedout.
AFTERMATH The Decline of France:ThefailureoftheFrenchNavytoadequatelyprotecttheFrenchcolonyworlds,inparticular
aftertheinvasionbytheKaferOver-Suzerainanditsalliesin
2306,challengedFrance’spreeminentroleinhumanaffairs.
France’sEarth-boundpowerhasdiminished, thoughnot in
the way its off-world prestige has. Several French colonies
haveeitherattemptedtodeclaretheirindependence,orhave
been effectively destroyed by the war. French casualties in
thewarweresevere,withmorethan10milliondead,and
millionsmorerenderedhomeless.Thisperiodalsomarksthe
beginningoftheendoftheFrenchPeace,asFrance’sinability
tocontrolitswaywardcoloniesleadstoitsroleonEarthbe-
ingchallenged.Sofar,theFrenchresponsetothesereversals
hasbeenincreasingintoleranceofdissent,witharmedforce
increasinglylikelytobeusedtoquellcivilunrest,andamili-
tanthandinitsdealingswiththecolonies.
Refugee Crises: Thedestructionof somuchof thecolonialinfrastructureoftheFrenchArmhasledtoahumani-
tariancrisis,astheabilityofreliefagencies likeZapamoga
andtheRedStarsocietytocopeislimited.Manyoftherefu-
geeshavebeenresettled,particularlyalongtheChineseArm
ofspace,fosteringresentmentamongboththeoriginalcolo-
nistsandtherefugeestowardstheterrestrialgovernments.
The Rise of America: The KaferWarwasfoughtagreatdistancefromAmericanholdings,andatnotimewere
Americanterritorieseverthreatenedbythewar.YetAmerica
tookonthetaskofdefendingworldsnotherown,andpaid
thepriceinshipsandpersonnel.Theyalsotookupaleader-
shiproleinthewar,alongsidetheBritishfleets,astheFrench
and Germans seemed too concerned with establishing the
chainofcommandtofightthewar.ItwastheAmericanbat-
tleshipColumbia,theprideofherfleet,thatturnedthetide
atBeowulfin2303,andAmericanshipsthatledthewaypast
Arcturus intoKafer space in2311.Castingaside the isola-
tionistroleithadplayedforthepastthreecenturies,America
isonceagainontherise.
Colonial Dissent: The period of 2309 to 2320 hasalso seen an upsurge in independence movements among
thecolonies, inparticular those long-settled,or thosewho
believe that theywerebadly treated in theKaferWar and
its aftermath. Following the war, Heidelsheimat officially
declared its independence from Germany, as did the pros-
perouscolonyofNibelungen.Germanydidlittletoattempt
topersuadethecoloniestoreturn,astheGermannational
consciencewasstillwrestlingwiththeactionsofLutkeand
hisfleet,alongwiththedestructionofsosuchofthenation’s
colonialinfrastructure.
ThingswentdifferentlyforFrance,however.Thedecline
in Frenchprestige following theKaferWar stung their no-
toriousGallicpride,andtheattemptsofafewcoloniesand
outpoststosecedestungfurther.Francehasreactedtoany
colonial dissent with force, and has so far thwarted rebel-
lionsatSerurier,Nyotekundu,KimanjanoandAurore.These
rebellionshaveservedtostrengthentherisingmilitarism in
theFrenchEmpire,andfuelednewexpeditionstofindnew
worlds.Ofthethreeold-timeEuropeancolonialpowers,Brit-
ainhasgonerelativelyunscathedbytherecentupswing in
colonialunrest,saveforthecolonyatCrater,withitstraitor-
ousgovernorandanuprisingamongtheminers.
WARS ON EARTH Asidefromtheover-archingmenaceoftheKaferWar,
therewerethreefurtherwarsonEarthinthistime.
Second Central Asian War: In2309,withFrance’sattentionfocusedelsewhere,Manchuriaagainattemptedto
invadetheCentralAsianRepublic.WithFranceandGermany
outofthepicture,theManchurianforcesfelttheycouldhan-
dletheforcesoftheCARandanyRussianalliestheymight
bringtothefray.Theywerewrong,andtheresultwasthree
bloodyyearsofwarbeforetheManchurianforcesfellback
intoTibet.
Second Mexican Civil War:Earlyinthenewcentury,festeringresentmentinMexicoattheperceivedexcessesof
therulingmilitary-industrialeliteexplodedintoviolencewhen
securityforcesfiredintocrowdsoffood-shortageprotesters
inMexicoCityandLosAngeles.Thisprovidedaflashpoint
forthewholenation,andtheriotsbecameopenrebellion.
Contrarytoexpectations,therebelswonthewar,andagain
contrarytoexpectations,actuallydeliveredontheirpromise
offreeelectionsin2316.
Fourth Rio Plata War:In2319,thelong-simmeringresentmentandhostilitybetweenBrazilandArgentinaflared
tolifeagain.TheKaferWarhaddivertedthesetwooldan-
tagonists,buttherivalryneverwentaway.Asof2320,the
twonationshaveturnednorthernUruguayintoabattlefield,
andforeignobserversarewatchingwithgreatinteresttosee
how the military lessons of the Kafer War play out in war
betweenHumanopponents.
TRADITIONAL RIVALRIES Historyhascreatedtraditionalrivalriesbetweencertain
Humannations.
Franco‑German Rivalry:Bavariahad,untilrecently,beenanallyofFrance,helpinghertorestoreworldorder,and
participatinginESAprograms.TheWarofGermanReunifi-
cation(from2292to2293)changedallofthis.TheGerman
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victorythencausedtheFrenchtoloseprestigeandnational
pride,andneithernationislikelytosoonforget.
Argentine‑British Rivalry:Withdisputesdatingbackhundreds of years, the Argentine and British governments
haveoftenbeenatodds.Their rivalry solidifiedbecauseof
theAlphaCentauriWarandtheBritishdenouncementofthe
Inca Republic (although the Republic has since become an
embarrassmenttoitsArgentineandMexicanpatrons).
Argentine‑Brazilian Rivalry: The Rio Plata Warswerefoughtforreasonsrangingfromaneedforresources
to a quest for economic and political supremacy in South
America.
Manchurian‑French Rivalry:WhenManchurianin-tervention intoCentralAsia erupted inwar, the French (as
world peacekeepers) became their main adversaries. Many
ManchurianslivingoffEarthdonotharborresentmentover
this,but forTerranManchurians, theFrench-solicited Japa-
neseinterventionwasaninsulttheywillnotforget.
Manchurian‑Japanese Rivalry: The two majorpowersofAsiahavehada long-runninghistoryofhostility
towardsoneanother.Thecurrentfrictionbetweenthetwo
nationsstemsfromJapaneseactioninthe1stCentralAsian
War,whentheirinterventionhaltedtheManchurianadvance,
andeventuallyturnedthewarinthefavorofFranceandher
allies.
American‑Mexican Rivalry:Mexicancontrolofpor-tionsofwhatwasonce theAmericansouthwestcreateda
strong dislike among Americans for Mexicans. Though it’s
beenthreehundredyears,olddislikesdiehard.Therecent
changeofgovernmentandpolicies inMexicohassoftened
officialdislikeofthenation,butitisstillfartooearlyinthe
reformprocesstodeterminewhatwillhappennext.
TRADITIONAL COOPERATIONS Theeventsofhistoryhavealsoprovidedsomelong-lived
friendshipsbetweennations thathave traditionallyworked
togethertowardcommongoals.
American‑Australian Cooperation: Since theywere both among the latecomers to the extraterrestrial
scene, America and Australia combined their space efforts
fromtheonset.Asaresult,anentireexploratoryarmisvirtu-
ally dominated by their works, an accomplishment neither
nationcouldorwouldhaveaspiredtoseparately.
Canadian‑British Cooperation:BritainandCanadahavealongtraditionofcooperation,andcurrentlyenjoyfa-
vorabletraderelationsandclosecooperationbetweentheir
militaries.ThisfriendshipwasprimarilyanEarth-boundone
untiltheKaferWar.
The ESA: ThemembernationsoftheEuropeanSpaceAgency, France,GreatBritain,Bavaria (nowGermany),and
Azaniahaveatraditionofcooperationinbothterrestrialand
extraterrestrialmatters.EventhesplitbetweenGermanyand
Francehasdonelittletobreakthisparticularbondoffriend-
shipat leastamongeachnation’soff-worldcivilianpopula-
tion.
The French Empire: TheFrenchEmpirebindstogetherlandsandpeoplesfromallovertheEarth.FromCentralAfrica
toSouthAmericatoEurope,allsubjectsoftheFrenchEmpire
feelanelitistcamaraderiewhichbindsthemtogether.
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cHArActErS Character generation follows the T20 Traveller’s Handbook(THB),thoughwithsomeimportantdifferencesasoutlinedhere.
Careers in 2320AD are taken from the THB, and allcareersareavailable,with theexceptionof theNoble,TAS
Reporter and the Big Game Hunter. The Barbarian class is
onlyavailabletotheEberNomadsandcertainprimitivisthu-
man cultures, both on Earth and on a few colony worlds.
2320ADalsoaddstwonewCoreclasses,ColonistandRe-porter, and threenewPrestige classes (p.29): theTrouble-
shooter,theAlienCulturalandTechnologiesExpert,andthe
Special Forces soldier. Many of the classes from T20 havechangestoreflectthe2320ADsetting,andthesechangesareoutlinedonp.27.
Characters in2320AD donotusually start as raw1stlevelcharacters.Theywillhavesomeexperience,andcanbe
generatedeitherwiththeQuickCharacterGenerationsystem
here,orwiththePriorHistoryCharacterGenerationfoundin
T20.
QUICK CHARACTER GENERATION SYSTEM 1.CharacterConcept
2.RollAbilityScoresincludingEducationandSocialStand-
ing
3.ChooseaHomeworldandGravityType
3.1ChooseHomeworldSkills
3.2ChooseHomeworldFeats
4.BackgroundSkills
5.BackgroundFeats
6.Rollforturningpoints
7.UsetheXPgeneratedtocreateacharacter
8.ClassSkillsandFeats
9.MusteringOutandRetirementBenefits
INITIAL STEPS Thefirststepincreatingacharacteristocomeupwithacharacterconcept;aplanofhowtheplayerwantsthechar-
actertoendup.Therandomfactorinthecharactergenera-
tionprocesscanchangethis,butitisagoodstartingpoint.
ABILITY SCORES AbilityscoresaregeneratedasnormalforT20,withhu-mans having a range of 3-18, modified by Body Type and
Gravity.TitlesofnobilityarisingfromSOCarenotgenerally
used, though thegeneralSOC level is still a valid indicator
ofone’splace insociety.Characters fromsocieties thatstill
possessapeeragemayelecttousetheappropriatetitle,with
GMapproval.Thesestatsaregenerate