Campaign Maps
I've done a little bit of work on my figures, but my main focus these past few weeks has been on developing my game setting. To that end I've been reading The Art of War Games' Awakening setting, anything to do with the Tuffleyverse, Tomorrow's War, Traveller (various incarnations), Near Earth, Orbital and The Outer Veil.
So far I've worked out the major earth factions, a horde of non-human factions and a sector map in the Traveller style. The map was done using the Traveller Map. Use the this text file in Traveller Map's Booklet Maker and/or Poster Maker to print out the map or you can just get the pdf map or the black background map here. You can alter the text file to make the map your own.
About the map, for those unfamiliar with Traveller each hex represents 1 parsec or 3.6 light years. Dangerous areas in Traveller are usually marked as Red Zones or Amber Zones (red and yellow circles respectively). Red Zones are usually enforced while Amber Zones are only warnings. Because the central government has fragmented, I am using Red Zones to indicate extreme danger to any who enter, and Amber Zones to indicate worlds sterilised by the DEATH Squads. The two exceptions are Alpha Centauri and Barnard's Star which are active war zones, there are others but these are the only ones that mankind is aware of.
The premise for this setting borrows heavily from the aforementioned works. The Synod of Worlds, is a truly ancient multi-species collective that spans the entire universe. The history of the Synod spans the entirety of the lifetime of this universe and part of the previous one. The founders of the Synod were in fact survivors of the great war that brought about the end of the previous universe and resulted in the big bang, birthing this present universe. How they survived is a bit beyond my simple minds ability to grasp, something to do with pocket universes, I think.
Anyway here's the gist of the situation:
The Synod seeds the universe with life from their own genetic codes, modified to local conditions. That genetic code has been altered to remove violent tendencies, beyond those need for survival. Once a species matures enough, by achieving the technologies of cloning themselves and FTL travel, they are accepted into the Synod. Integration is made easier by a mentor species (genetically similar), assisting to develop technologies and to adapt culturally.
About two thousand years ago a trend towards violence was noticed, in an uncharacteristic burst of speed a plan was quickly devised and implemented. Fortunately for mankind and many other species a public outcry and an industrial accident put a stop to that plan. (see Prometheus).
Because of its size the Synod usually takes forever to reach a consensus and make a decision. A few hundred years ago they finally came to a decision. They would cease all seeding operations, they would wipe the slate clean and start again. Specialist teams, called DEATH Squads, were sent in to secretly retrieve certain disguised artefacts and activate a device called a 'World Eater' to destroy all life on the planet. Once decided the Synod acts fairly quickly, in this case it meant that a single planet was totally devoid of all life 24 hours after the order was signed. The Council continued to debate the measures and opted to allow any species that could achieve the required level of development (i.e. the ability to clone itself and build FTL drives), acceptance into the Synod. The Synod member species being called 'Chosen' whilst those who weren't were called 'Fallen'.
The next planet on the list apparently made great leaps and bounds in technological research and discovered jump drive a few hours before the DEATH team arrived, putting a halt to that particular operation and saving an entire planet from extinction. The DEATH Squads schedule created the ultimate deadline and many mentors did their utmost to help their charges to meet the deadline, achieving cloning and FTL before their time was up.
A few decades ago a Tityn named Prometheus was caught by Synod authorities assisting Human scientists in the improvement of their own technologies and understanding Synod FTL and weapons technologies. The Council was so outraged that they tried him and executed him rather hastily. The repercussions were felt immediately, many scientists and specialists failed to show at work the next day, apparently afraid of being executed like Prometheus. Indeed the rift created in Synod society by this one act tore it apart as many planets seceded from the Synod. The Synod tried to make amends but the damage was done.
Synod representatives were sent away and in some cases imprisoned or even in one exceptional case summarily executed.
The Synod had unintentionally started an intergalactic war with millions of fronts, that it was unprepared to wage. The average Synod citizen is genetically predisposed to abhor violence, and in some cases they become violently ill at the prospect. Initially the Synod relies heavily on the Consensus, a group of AI's with Chosen status, to prosecute the war while selected Synod volunteers undergo advanced training to prepare them for war. Further efforts include the use of propaganda to turn one Fallen species against another. Another resulted in the creation of the Darghaur (see By Dagger or Talon and GZG).
You'll find in the text file mentioned above that I've tried to list as many manufacturers' alien figures as possible. There are a few names that don't match a figure range, Atlanteans, Tityns, etc.
Given the nature of the universe this is set in, most forces will start with fleets made up largely of refitted transports. As the war progresses they will be replaced by dedicated warships. The Synod has the advantage of superior technology, but generally lacks the military doctrine, strategic and tactical knowledge of their more war like opponents.
For mankind, the war starts in 2065AD. The major powers have assembled their fleets of borrowed and refitted transports, loaded their newly trained Marines, Commandos, Naval Infantry, SternTruppen and Foreign Legionnaires on board and departed for Alpha Centauri and Barnard System's. Reconnaissance places Synod troops in both systems with the heaviest concentration on Alpha Centauri 3a, where Synod Forces are supporting the indigenous population in preparing their defences. Barnard's Star seems to have a force of Robots defending it.
Definitely a work in progress, as the map will need some adjustment, species descriptions need to be done and matched to figure ranges. There's scope for adding in any species you want to add, either replace an existing species or make them part of the Synod by placing them on whatever Synod world you want. The map shows all systems with a native population, all others are shown as Synod worlds or a few non-aligned worlds. The Synod itself has its central worlds in an entirely different galaxy. I need to do planetary, regional and local maps for each world that will be campaigned on. And constantly update the maps as the grand campaign unfolds.
Five Alpha, out.
So far I've worked out the major earth factions, a horde of non-human factions and a sector map in the Traveller style. The map was done using the Traveller Map. Use the this text file in Traveller Map's Booklet Maker and/or Poster Maker to print out the map or you can just get the pdf map or the black background map here. You can alter the text file to make the map your own.
About the map, for those unfamiliar with Traveller each hex represents 1 parsec or 3.6 light years. Dangerous areas in Traveller are usually marked as Red Zones or Amber Zones (red and yellow circles respectively). Red Zones are usually enforced while Amber Zones are only warnings. Because the central government has fragmented, I am using Red Zones to indicate extreme danger to any who enter, and Amber Zones to indicate worlds sterilised by the DEATH Squads. The two exceptions are Alpha Centauri and Barnard's Star which are active war zones, there are others but these are the only ones that mankind is aware of.
The premise for this setting borrows heavily from the aforementioned works. The Synod of Worlds, is a truly ancient multi-species collective that spans the entire universe. The history of the Synod spans the entirety of the lifetime of this universe and part of the previous one. The founders of the Synod were in fact survivors of the great war that brought about the end of the previous universe and resulted in the big bang, birthing this present universe. How they survived is a bit beyond my simple minds ability to grasp, something to do with pocket universes, I think.
Anyway here's the gist of the situation:
The Synod seeds the universe with life from their own genetic codes, modified to local conditions. That genetic code has been altered to remove violent tendencies, beyond those need for survival. Once a species matures enough, by achieving the technologies of cloning themselves and FTL travel, they are accepted into the Synod. Integration is made easier by a mentor species (genetically similar), assisting to develop technologies and to adapt culturally.
About two thousand years ago a trend towards violence was noticed, in an uncharacteristic burst of speed a plan was quickly devised and implemented. Fortunately for mankind and many other species a public outcry and an industrial accident put a stop to that plan. (see Prometheus).
Because of its size the Synod usually takes forever to reach a consensus and make a decision. A few hundred years ago they finally came to a decision. They would cease all seeding operations, they would wipe the slate clean and start again. Specialist teams, called DEATH Squads, were sent in to secretly retrieve certain disguised artefacts and activate a device called a 'World Eater' to destroy all life on the planet. Once decided the Synod acts fairly quickly, in this case it meant that a single planet was totally devoid of all life 24 hours after the order was signed. The Council continued to debate the measures and opted to allow any species that could achieve the required level of development (i.e. the ability to clone itself and build FTL drives), acceptance into the Synod. The Synod member species being called 'Chosen' whilst those who weren't were called 'Fallen'.
The next planet on the list apparently made great leaps and bounds in technological research and discovered jump drive a few hours before the DEATH team arrived, putting a halt to that particular operation and saving an entire planet from extinction. The DEATH Squads schedule created the ultimate deadline and many mentors did their utmost to help their charges to meet the deadline, achieving cloning and FTL before their time was up.
A few decades ago a Tityn named Prometheus was caught by Synod authorities assisting Human scientists in the improvement of their own technologies and understanding Synod FTL and weapons technologies. The Council was so outraged that they tried him and executed him rather hastily. The repercussions were felt immediately, many scientists and specialists failed to show at work the next day, apparently afraid of being executed like Prometheus. Indeed the rift created in Synod society by this one act tore it apart as many planets seceded from the Synod. The Synod tried to make amends but the damage was done.
Synod representatives were sent away and in some cases imprisoned or even in one exceptional case summarily executed.
The Synod had unintentionally started an intergalactic war with millions of fronts, that it was unprepared to wage. The average Synod citizen is genetically predisposed to abhor violence, and in some cases they become violently ill at the prospect. Initially the Synod relies heavily on the Consensus, a group of AI's with Chosen status, to prosecute the war while selected Synod volunteers undergo advanced training to prepare them for war. Further efforts include the use of propaganda to turn one Fallen species against another. Another resulted in the creation of the Darghaur (see By Dagger or Talon and GZG).
You'll find in the text file mentioned above that I've tried to list as many manufacturers' alien figures as possible. There are a few names that don't match a figure range, Atlanteans, Tityns, etc.
Given the nature of the universe this is set in, most forces will start with fleets made up largely of refitted transports. As the war progresses they will be replaced by dedicated warships. The Synod has the advantage of superior technology, but generally lacks the military doctrine, strategic and tactical knowledge of their more war like opponents.
For mankind, the war starts in 2065AD. The major powers have assembled their fleets of borrowed and refitted transports, loaded their newly trained Marines, Commandos, Naval Infantry, SternTruppen and Foreign Legionnaires on board and departed for Alpha Centauri and Barnard System's. Reconnaissance places Synod troops in both systems with the heaviest concentration on Alpha Centauri 3a, where Synod Forces are supporting the indigenous population in preparing their defences. Barnard's Star seems to have a force of Robots defending it.
Definitely a work in progress, as the map will need some adjustment, species descriptions need to be done and matched to figure ranges. There's scope for adding in any species you want to add, either replace an existing species or make them part of the Synod by placing them on whatever Synod world you want. The map shows all systems with a native population, all others are shown as Synod worlds or a few non-aligned worlds. The Synod itself has its central worlds in an entirely different galaxy. I need to do planetary, regional and local maps for each world that will be campaigned on. And constantly update the maps as the grand campaign unfolds.
Five Alpha, out.
I like what you've come up with here, lots of room to play around with!
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ReplyDeleteThanks Don, I've been stalled for a little while, and it appears that I've deleted the files from my dropbox account. But I'll search for them on my PC and re-upload them.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I've definitely misplaced the text file and pdf map, it looks like I deleted them.
ReplyDelete