Pirates of the Crimson Galaxy Fluff Bible

8/6/2019 Pirates of the Crimson Galaxy Fluff Bible

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/pirates-of-the-crimson-galaxy-fluff-bible 1/23

[++Pirates of the Crimson Galaxy++]“Fluff Bible”

Basic Tenets:1. The Crimson Galaxy consists of the tyrannical, power-hungry Dominions, disillusioned mutants

and rebels, those who would seek to overthrow humanity and those who wish to ensure itsdominance. The galaxy is filled with people trying to make a living, be it piracy, selling

themselves, or stealing and killing. Life is short and brutal and you will not be remembered.2. This is not the greatest time to live. If you grew up living under a Dominion, you are brainwashed into believing everything that the authorities want you to believe. If you didn'tgrow up under a Dominion, it's quite likely you are on a backwater world and you have other

problems to deal with, like mutant gangs, pirates, and the native creatures.3. Not everything is high tech. The distant colonies of many of the Dominions suffer from this

problem, as do those who are cut off from contact due to disruption of communications for asignificant amount of time. Some planets are being discovered with humans on them, they aretypically from cut-off colonies of long-extinct Dominions. This is fairly uncommon.

4. The setting is a back drop for your games and stories. In addition, the Dominions are powerful but are avoided and ignored outside of systems that they do not control. Do not feel constrainedto make your story about the Dominions when mercenaries and pirates and gangers are on therise!

Author's Note on Technology:Technology in Pirates of the Crimson Galaxy has been purposefully left vague, and for several

reasons. Basic descriptions are all that is really needed so that the players will understand, and that isall there is unless a more complex description would be required. Too many scifi universes fall into thetrap of over-describing their weapons and armor, breaking the suspension of disbelief that is needed for fantastic situations.

The most important reason for not describing everything is that, to be plainly honest, no-onewould understand it. Current 21 st century terms are not adequate to describe a society in whichconcepts such as heads up displays and basic AI are about as ground-breaking as a stone wheel.Though many dominions are more technically inclined, they do not make up the entire galaxy. Thosewho are lucky (or unlucky enough, depending on your point of view) to be born outside of a Dominionwill not have as great of an education and will doubtfully understand the majority of technology.

Due to the Nuclear Dark Ages, humanity had to rediscover everything again. How humanity progressed was fairly different than it did before the Dark Ages, however of its progression is stilllinked to pre-Dark Age technology. Regardless, different progression means that very little could beaccurately described with 21 st century terminology. Virtually all weapons, equipment, ranks, and namesare translations and as such more subtle parts of Dominion language will not transfer correctly or willnot be accurately interpreted by today's readers.

Note on Language:As with technology, the many languages of the Dominions are not easily relatable. Though

everything is presented in English (as otherwise it would be impossible to read), some words willappear odd or bastardized, and that will be because that is the most accurate translation of the word.

The written form of many languages in the Crimson Galaxy will be in pictograph form, muchlike hieroglyphics. Adding further complication is the fact that each planet will tend to have its owndialect(s), meaning that even two planets from the same Dominion will have trouble communicating.This is often fixed by having a “standard” dialect, which will differ from the local dialect. The result isthat most citizens will be bilingual at the very least. Those with an aptitude for learning languages havea very lucrative career ahead of them.



Time:Time is given two designations: PrJD and PoJD: Pre Judgment Day and Post Judgment Day;respectively. Judgment day, of course, is when earth was engulfed in nuclear fire.Full time dates are as follows: YYYYYY:MM:WW: DD:HH:MMFor example, the date PoJD15222:08:10:02:02:45 would be the 45 th minute in the 2 nd hour of the 2 nd

day of the 10 th month of the 15222 nd year after Judgment Day.

Officially, given earth time, each year consists of 10 months. Each month then has 100 differentsegments which are akin to days except that the sleep patterns of many people are very differentcompared to those of 21 st century earth. Finally, each “day” breaks down into 10 “hours” which allhave 100 “minutes”. The structure continues breaking into segments of 100, with micro-minutes, andso on and so forth into infinity.

Space Travel in the Crimson Galaxy Space travel is an important part of life in the Crimson Galaxy. Without it, the Dominions would

not exist and humanity would have gone extinct as Earth collapsed.

The History of Faster than Light space travel During the 845 th Hate War in PoJD11278, an Azurian patrol came upon a bunker on a moon of Jupiter which contained, among other things, plans for faster-than-light interstellar travel. At this time, allDominions were restricted to Lord's Dwelling (the solar system containing Earth) and as common aswar is now, it was even more common back then. With resources dwindling, dominions wouldfrequently raid other dominions, and piracy was on an upswing.

However, nothing stays secret forever and no more than a year later, Arkinian Kommandotroepsraided a top-secret Azurian installation which contained the plans. These same plans would later fallinto the hands of Frebrenions and Espannians. Ultimately, it would be the Espannians who would

benefit the most as they would go on to discover Hieromnion.

The Cortazinian DriveThe Cortazinian Drive, as it is known, allows vessels to break the light barrier, thus allowing

ships to travel faster than light. It is the result of the discovered plans and, for the first (and only) timein human history, a joint operation between the various Dominions to get beyond the war-torn Lord'sDwelling, where the corpse of Earth lies.

The Cortazinian Drive needs the utmost precise calculation in order to function properly and toget the ship to where it needs. That, and the fact that the ship needs to attain light speed in the first

place, makes it very strenuous on the ship's systems. A typical freighter will take about 15 earthminutes to attain light speed and to break the light barrier. The larger F-Class warships will take about25-45 minutes to break the light barrier.



Communication and RelaysOne of the biggest hurdles to overcome in the galaxy is the vastness of space. It takes almost a

week to travel from one end of a system to another, and inter-system travel may take even a month.This means that if there is a mutant rebellion on one end of a system and the closest allied planet is in adifferent system, it will take quite some time to regain order!

It is for this very reason that each Dominion-held planet will have a Governor which

communicates directly with the Dominionator himself. In the absence of orders from the Dominionator,the Governor is tasked with assuming full control of the planet and asserting authority as he sees fit.Predictably, this means that someone governing a planet is potentially incredibly dangerous and as suchthese individuals must be highly loyal to their Dominion and to its leader, for they could wreak untoldhavoc otherwise. Some planets may also have Counts, which oversee smaller parts of the planet andthen answer to the Governor.

Since communication by ship is incredibly slow, each system has communication relays whichare used to transmit messages from planet to planet. This is typically a much more reliable way of communication, but even then, inter-system messaging may take several hours to transmit and as such,split-second decisions must be made by the planet until the messages arrive. Another thing of note isthat communication relays are typically the first target of attacking parties, because without themcommunication (as noted earlier) would takes weeks to months. Predictably, these relays are very wellguarded and it is no easy task to eliminate them.

The 13 Lost Espannian ColoniesMany earlier communication relays were incredibly faulty, and the most famous example is the

lost colonies of the Espannian Dominion. Early in the Space Race, the Dominions spread themselvesfar too thin to be adequately counted for. It is estimated that nearly 10% of the early colonies lostcontact with the main group, but the 13 colonies are most remembered because of the eerie set of circumstances in which they were lost.

In the system of Zhaido, 13 Espannian colonies were set up to mine and to make bases of operations through which they could strike at a nearby Frebrenion system. However, one day contactwas lost with every single one of them. Losing contact with one or two was expected at this point, butnot all 13. No less than a month later, scouts came upon the intact prefabricated structures of thecolonies, however all were curiously devoid of any human life. There has never been an explanation for the disappearances and unless new information is discovered, there never will be one.





Piracy:In the vast, cold vacuum of space, there are no laws. If there are, they are unenforceable and are

more for show than anything else. The Dominions attempt to make sure that there is some semblance of order in their systems, but again it is impossible to make sure that rules are followed.

As such, space is ripe for piracy. Merchant ships are incredibly vulnerable and anytransmissions begging for assistance from pirates will go unanswered. For this reason, many merchant

ships are now being escorted by a small corvette which will do its best to protect the merchant ship.Regardless, Piracy is on the rise and really does not show any signs of stopping in the near future. Life in the dominions is utterly soul-crushing and grinds away at one's will to live. Manydisillusioned youth will therefore turn to something more hot-blooded such as piracy or mercenarywork. Very rarely does this work out however, for most are conscripted and will serve in the PDF andthen go onto a menial factory job. But those who escape will join the first mercenary contingent thatthey can find.

Dominion officials are worried about the uprise in Piracy but at the same time accept that therewill always be those who will not follow them: this merely means that they must be killed and made anexample of to the rest of the population.

Pirates are most noted for flying corvettes and other small, fast ships. Most ships are not heavilyarmed for the money is in capturing these ships and selling them and their cargo for a ransom. In somerarer cases, the captured ship will actually be added to the fleet of the pirates.

In all, piracy is a dangerous but lucrative career. Ships with pirate codes are shot on sight andcaptured pirates are tortured and killed publicly.

Space Combat:Typically, space combat is fairly indecisive due to the incredibly long range at which

combatants fight. In fact, it is typical for a “medium range” encounter to take place between 2 shipswith a million miles between them.

The biggest reason for the timidity of space combat is the incredible amount of destruction thatclose-range encounters result in, for both sides. In close-range combat, victories are typically Pyrrhic at

best and counterproductive at worst. There have been horror stories of ships cut in half by a singleRailor hit, and entire sections of the ship subjected to the heat of a sun by a phaser hit. For this veryreason, the crew on the ship will be often very spread out to avoid -most- casualties, but no onesurvives when the entire ship explodes.

Of course, there are proponents of close action encounters. The Brenthons have had reasonablesuccess with such maneuvers, but some Dominions, particularly the Azurians and the Espannians, stick rigidly to their combat tactical manuals and there have been instances of Espannian victories where thealmiront of the fleet was executed for going outside of the proscribed battle plan. Such is life in theCrimson Galaxy.

Force shielding also plays a major role in space combat, protecting ships against debris and alsoagainst glancing hits. Although typically not strong enough to survive a direct hit, force shielding canmitigate some of the damage and allow many of the crew members in breached holds to still survive.



Warships:The History of Crimson Galaxy Space Conflict:In PoJD10765, when earth was still the domain of the kingdoms of men, the first space ship waslaunched. It landed on the moon and the astronaut team discovered a massive complex which wastheorized to have been pre-Judgment day society. There the shuttle team discovered a wealth of information, and though they could not entirely understand all of it, scientists back on irradiated Earth

were able to reverse-engineer much of the technology. The discovery would jump technology forward by about 350 years. A similar base would be discovered on Mars no more than a year later.

Basic Information:Warships are possibly the most common vessel in the galaxy, and there are many different

types. Regardless of how different they are, each warship will have a Cortazinian drive standard, plusforce fields and multiple weapons systems. Most planets will have a planetary defence fleet consistingof retro-fitted transports and cruisers, though some will have more proper warships. The Espanniancapital planet, El'vorheez, is renowned for almost literally having a ring of warships surrounding it.

F-Class Warships:F-Class stands for Front-line Class, which are the ships that are going to be at the forefront of

any engagement.F-Class warships are further divided into 5 classes: I, II, III, IV, and V. The larger the number, the larger the ship. Most F-Class warships are either Class II or III. “Capital” ships, as they are known, tend to beClass IV or even V. Support ships are typically Class I.

F-Class warships will often have a crew in the tens of thousands that is equal to its class. Hence, a F-Class I ship would have around 10,000 crewmembers and an F-Class III ship would have around30,000 crew members.The Espannians are known to have constructed at least 2 ships that would be listed under F-Class VI,making them the largest vessels in the galaxy.

Weaponry:Most warships, including the F-Class are designed to have point-defense systems of SH-Bolters, SHLaunchers and SH-Shredders (with SH standing for Super-Heavy) against fighter craft. Althoughfighter craft are rarely used due to the long engagement distances, point-defense systems are still goodto have and can also be very useful for subjugating populations without utterly annihilating everything.

Turret-mounted weapons are the most common, and they are often formed in batteries of weapons. Dueto their design, virtually all turrets have a 360 degree field of fire and tactics such as “crossing the T”that were popular in pre-Judgment day Earth would not do much against an F-Class warship!A popular tactic is to “dig a grave”, as most ships do not have much turret defense on the bottom andmost turrets are on the top-side of the ship. If a ship gets underneath another ship, the lower ship canfire more shots.

Most warships will have SH-Beamers, SH-Phasers and SH-Railors as a main armament. Due to therange and accuracy of the Beamers, most ships frequently will have a 2:1:1 ratio of Beamers to Phasersand Pulsars. SH-Pulsars will occasionally be used when planning for a closer engagement, where thelarge explosions produced by the weapons can be used to fry sensors and to scramble targeting systems.



Shielding:As has been briefly mentioned before, all warships will have force shielding in order to protect

them from debris and glancing hits while in combat. Most civilian craft will have shielding as well, to protect from petty thieves and also the aforementioned debris.

The Shield generators on F-Class ships are huge pieces of machinery which are delicate tomaintain and incredibly volatile. During the Battle above Naldir, Frenthon flagship The Excruciator

had its shield generator penetrated by a SH Phaser, and the resulting explosion was so spectacular thatall fighting ceased for about 15 seconds. There were no survivors aboard the flagship.The Shield generator is typically the most protected part of the ship, but even so there have been

cases, like at Naldir, where damage to it has resulted in 100% casualties amongst the ship's crew.

Transport and Boarding ActionsMost F-Class warships will carry contingents of marines which can be rapidly deployed on

planets as reserve troops or for the front lines. Famous examples include the Brenthon royal marinesand the swift Imperial Battalion. Thus, fleets of battleships are also mobile fortresses and can dispense

justice at any given time. Boarding Actions are rare during space battles: as mentioned before, conflicts take place

millions of miles apart. Where boarding actions are most common is -after- battles, when the victor sends out small groups to damaged or surrendered enemy ships. Because of the size of F-Class shipsand the tight hallways, boarding actions often take quite a while to complete and the casualties arehorrendous. Sealed powered armor is a requirement, and the heavier the better. Flamers and needlersare very popular boarding weapons, and the Subjugator's radioactive rays go from brutal to utterlyinhuman in a cramped space.



The Frebrenion Civil WarAt one point in time, the Frebrenion Dominion stood head and shoulders above all other

Dominions, even with the advantage that the Espannians had with Hieromnion. This, of course, was allto change when the Host infiltrated the central government and began to corrupt it from the inside.Their infiltration was designed to utterly split the Dominion into many parts, and to slowly but surelyeradicate the fringe elements from the galaxy. The large amount of systems the Dominion controlled

coupled with the long distance between them meant that Frebrenion was a prime specimen.The Civil War was an example of how chance is a cruel mistress. At Hel's Fang, the Frebrenionscame upon a distress call from a downed freighter, which was carrying some cryogenically frozensamples of different alien life-one of which was the near extinct Host. The search team accidentallydeactivated the decontainment cells and after a quick firefight they were painfully and horrificallyassimilated into the Host.

Soon, the entire patrol fleet had been assimilated by The Host, who then, using the captain'sknowledge, headed for the main fleet.

The main fleet and its acting Doomadmiral Victor Vice CXVII were soon completely overrun.

The Avengers and the JudgesRealizing that brute force would get them nowhere, the Host declared that the fleet (and the

current system it was in, Eleesr, ) were separate of the Frebrenion Dominion and would henceforth becalled the Frenthons. Much to their delight, many senators echoed the statement, feeling that the

bureaucracy was constraining them.However, the Frebrenion Dominionator could not let this happen. He sensed something was

awry, and called those who were still true to Frebrenion to fight under his banner- and so the Brenthonswere formed. For Frebrenion in its native tongue can be roughly translated into English as theAvenging Judge. So the Brenthons would be the Dominionator's Avengers and the Frenthons would bethe Judges.

Dominion: Total War Soon the entire former Frebrenion controlled space was embroiled in a tough and bitter war,

with neither side able to gain the upper hand. For although the Frenthons (unknowingly at the timecontrolled by the Host) had the majority of the fleet, they lacked the manpower, leadership, andresources that the Brenthons had.

Eventually, the Brenthon Dominionator would discover the Host influence of the Frenthons, andhe set to work all of his scientists to develop counter- Host measures. Despite all of the measuresdeveloped, the Host had spread too widely to be adequately dealt with, and it became clear that theBrenthons would have to do as much damage control as they possibly could.

The death toll from the ensuing Civil War would never be fully counted, such was thedestruction that engulfed the 2 sides. Neither side was able to get an edge, until the Arkinians andAzurians stepped in on the side of the Brenthons, supplying their scientists and weapons tech in order to stop the Frenthons, who left unchecked could have disrupted shipping lines and destroyed colonies.

Not to be outdone, the Espannians began indiscriminately attacking both the Frenthons and theallied Dominions.

EpilogueThe Brenthons and their allies would eventually be victorious over the Frenthons (and to some

extent the Espannians and the now-destroyed Ixalian Dominion), yet at a great cost. The Host weredriven out almost completely, and now will rarely make attacks. They are still there, however, waitingfor another moment in which they can strike and destroy the hated human race.



The Host

[++Excerpt from call-in during Frebrenion broadcast++] I, I don't have a whole lot of, of time. Um, OK, I'm a former scientist Kontralian Installation on the Maw. I, I was let go on a medical discharge about aweek ago and, and . . . I, I've kind of been runnin' across the galaxy. Um, um, damn, I don't know where to start. They're, they're gonna, um, they'll triangulate on this position really really soon. OK, um, um, OK, what, what we're thinking of as, as aliens, uh, they're, they're shape shifting beings that anearlier precursor of the, um, Frebrenion space program they made contact with. Uh, they, they are not what they claim to be. Uh, they've infiltrated a lot of, uh, about a lot of aspects of, of, of the military establishment, particularly the Kontralian Installation. Uh, the, the disasters that are coming, they, the,the military, I'm sorry, the government knows about them. And, and there's a lot of safe areas in this Dominion that they could begin moving the populationto now. They are not! They want those major population centers wiped out so that the, the few that are left will be more easily controllable. I say....[++Transmission Terminated++]

What were known as “Vampires” in pre Dark Ages terminology were actually The Host, a race of vile,shape-shifting beings that infiltrate other races and corrupt them from the inside. It is believed that a small

portion of the race had actually infiltrated much of earth’s government and were annihilated in the nuclear firestorm. It is theorized that the mysterious “Tyrant of New Delhi” was one of these creatures.

Regardless, a minute number of the infiltrating Host survived Judgment Day: either they were frozenand in suspended animation in one of earth's poles or through some other way.

Though they have not been discovered, it is possible that there are many more Host than have just beenencountered during the Frebrenion Civil War.

AssimilationThe Host are able to morph to look like any biological structure of their choice, as long as they have hadcontact with the victim for at least 5 seconds. This gives them enough time to absorb data from the victim'sDNA. How the Host are actually able to change their form is unknown, but it is theorized that they developed itto protect themselves from larger predators. Of course, they would soon become the predators themselves as theywere able to morph into these larger predators and hunt them down and kill them. In espionage, the Host willmorph into the victim and then disintegrate their victim with their acid vomit. The more worrying part of theassimilation process is that the Host are able to partially absorb the mental state and memories of their victim.Only those who had close relations to the victim would be able to tell a difference in the personality of the victimversus the copy-cat. The entire assimilation process from absorption of DNA to the transformation itself takesabout 8 minutes.

The Victim:In some instances, instead of disintegrating the victim, the Host can drain the victim of their will and blood yet still keep them alive through its mind, turning them into a zombie of sorts. How many zombie servitorsa Host can control is subject to how strong in mind it is.

An un-morphed Host The true form of a Host is perhaps the most horrific, disgusting abomination that one could lay their eyes

on. They have a vaguely humanoid shape, except that their skin is highly translucent and their muscles areapparently obvious. A Host's “head” if it can be called that is a mangled mass of eyes, mouths, and tendrils. Evenin their non-morphed state, a Host is able to form bone or tendril weapons at will, making it a foe to be reckonedwith in close quarters.

Reproduction:The Host do not reproduce in a normal sense. Instead, they are able to split at will, except that these split

Hosts (known as Imps) will be much weaker. The actual splitting process takes an incredible amount of time tofully recover from, explaining why they were not able to completely overwhelm pre-Judgment day earth or theBrenthons. It is also believed that the original Hosts on Earth did not split as they were advance agents,

preparing Earth for the final assimilation. This final assimilation of course failed with Judgment Day.



Robotics and A.I. In the Crimson GalaxyAs has been noted earlier, the race that inhabits the Crimson Galaxy has developed much

differently than the society of the 21 st century. As to be expected, some things have fallen by thewayside. Artificial Intelligence is a technology that has fallen by the wayside in recent centuries,mostly due to its unprofitability. A working artificial or virtual intelligence with as few glitches as

possible requires time and precision. And since most A.I requires calibration via human hand, it takes a

long time to mass-produce. The more simple versions do not require this same calibration so it does nothinder robots that work in assembly lines or do tasks that allow room for error. Many mundane tasksare performed by robots. Although some argue that they take jobs away from citizens, their complaintsfall on uncaring ears.Combat Roles of Robots:

Despite popularity with commanders for reducing casualties, combat robots are fairlyuncommon and it remains to be seen if there will ever be a better format for using them. Typically,robots will serve as medics or as advance spotters. In several instances, some Dominions have used avery simple robot as a “living shield” for their troops to advance behind.

Combat Roles of A.I:Synthetic intelligences provide a crucial role in the galaxy-wide conflict between the

Dominions and the scum outside of it. Without it, space combat would be completely indecisive, as nohuman would be able to calculate the ranges between the ships. Indeed, space travel in general would

be nearly impossible, such is the amount of technology that goes into even the smallest of ships.Without A.I and V.I, a yacht that would normally have a crew of 5 would have to have a crew of at least100. In short, these intelligences are invaluable.

In space combat, even though A.I assists in target acquisition and targeting ranges, it all requiresan input of data from a human crewmember in order to be optimal. Because of this, the two are notmutually exclusive as they require the other to function. A ship without A.I. is a hulk of metal, but so isa ship without a human crew.

Propaganda:Of course, the ideas presented above about A.I that the general populaces of the Dominions

have been told is false. In reality, A.I.s and V.I.s are incredibly simple to make, however biggest problem is that robots fighting against robots is boring because they lack the same bravado and guts(both figurative and real) that human troopers possess. During a Hate War that took place shortly after the creation of combat A.I. units, virtually all “casualties” were synthetic. It was reckoned to have beenthe least hateful Hate War in the entire history of man and as a result, all of the Dominionators cametogether and agreed to always have the majority of the combat be around humans, as it makes for entertaining movies and holo-net vids.

Superstition:Outside of most dominions, the populace views any sort of non-biological intelligence as

“bewitched” or cursed. This is due to the lack of education that these particular populaces possess, andthese views are most common amongst the more primitive worlds which have not yet been properlysubjugated.



Mutation in the Crimson Galaxy, or The Enemy WithinThe survival of the human race is quickly becoming a losing proposition. Wars reduce its

number and new technology is being developed all of the time to kill more and more. However there isa graver threat that, if left unchecked, can doom humanity.

Due to the nuclear warfare that led to the Dark Ages, the gene pool of humanity has becomeincreasingly unstable and erratic. It has gotten to the point where almost 50% of humans are born with

some sort of genetic mutation, although of that 50%, only 10% have an obvious, appearance-morphingmutation. If both parents are mutants, then the chance of a child having a mutation is near 95%. MostDominions will have an official from the government present during birth to make sure that there areno complications. Depending on the severity of the malformed child, it may be killed outright or it will

be taken from the mother and sent to live in a ghetto specifically for the misfit population. Mutants born on some more “forward thinking” planets will simply live with less rights than the average citizen.On less civilized planets, the mutants will either be killed or they will be killed and then eaten.

The Dominion governments are understandably very wary about mutants and do their best toquell them when possible. The pathetic mutant populations are very rebellious and will from time totime uprise and try and depose the government, to predictably horrifying results. Crack riot police willkill any mutants in their path, and for days afterward there will be news stories and the smokingcorpses of mutants impaled on pikes lined on streets. Propaganda is very effective and the averagecivilian is taught to hate the impure and those with mutations.

In some rare cases where mutants do take control, the city will quickly fall into despair and ruinas the “norms” (people who aren't mutated) are captured and eaten.

Just as worrying for Dominions are the cults that can be behind mutant uprisings. These cults preach annihilation of the “norms” and that the mutants are in fact an advanced, evolutionarily superior version of humans. As long as the mutants are kept stupid and forced to work in labor camps in order tosurvive, they will not be able to overthrow their oppressors. But given hope (no matter howmisguided), the sickly mutant populations are a force to be reckoned with.

Due to their condition, mutants are typically found in large mobs. If they manage to escapewhatever planet they were born on, they will become mercenaries, pirates, and gangers.

Cults and Secret SocietiesMany of the cults and secret societies pervading the Crimson Galaxy are fairly new; however

some are millennia old, having first been founded during the Nuclear Dark Ages. Many of these cultsare mutant-based, however some are actually dedicated the to the removal of mutation. A popular ideais that there is a Secret Society formed during the Dark Ages known as The Forge who actually controlall of the Dominions and see the entire galaxy as their playground. The Crimson Legion is the name of another cult that is whispered about in the darker corners of the galaxy.

Crime SyndicatesJust as there are cults and secret societies dedicated to anarchy and hedonism in an unforgiving

world, so too there are groups that are dedicated to greed and lawlessness and corruption. TheseSyndicates (or Corporations), as they are known, are comprised of individuals who care only aboutthemselves. They control banks, rings of assassins, mercenaries, and other uncaring individuals. Inshort, the goal is money, and lots of it. Many syndicates have infiltrated Dominion governments andlobby to pass laws which benefit their corrupt hierarchies.

Notable syndicates:Exkalibur: Controls most of the tech and pharma trade in the Brenthon and ArkinianDominions.Vorzhod: Bank and money launderer in almost 15 systems and also deals in narcs.Zodiac: Specializes in private security forces and bounty hunting, with some illegal narcs on theside.



Gangs, Punks, and other CrimeFor those living in the claustrophobic cities of the Dominins, crime is common. There are so

many people and the cities are so large that it is near impossible for any police force to patrol. ThoughDominion Enforcers (often referred to as Heat or Gronks) brutally impose laws upon the citizens it issworn to 'protect', the youth are rebellious. However the daily grind brings them to their senses and

they soon become model citizens, whether through prison school and brainwashing or through beingmade an example via public execution.Many youths join gangs and will often stay a part of them well into their late teens, though

many are “corrected” by then. Virtually all gangs hang out in the industrial or ghettos, where Gronk presence is minimal.

Even punks and gangers have certain subcultures. There are jetcycle and motorbike gangs, andthere are also thieves who steal to make a living. Some do it for power, some do it for the thrill, somedo it for the sake of anarchy and bringing down an oppressive government. Irrespective of the reason

behind joining a gang, youths will join gangs because it is a dark and cold universe and being alone isdangerous in and of itself.

RebellionDespite the best efforts of Enforcers and propaganda perpetuated by the media and politicians

and schools, there are those who find their Dominion's government to be oppressive and cruel. A widevariety of people are attracted to anarchy. The aforementioned punks, gangs, cultists, and mutants allhate the iron-fisted rulers of the galaxy and seek to supplant them. However, rebellion is incrediblyrisky and its victories are often short-lived, for retribution is swift and terrible.

Rebellion is more common on outlying systems where a ruling government has not been fullyestablished, or where a new government has been put in place after a coup or invasion by an enemydominion. As noted before, Enforcers have been tasked with ensuring that there is peace at any cost:even the lives of its citizens are secondary to a pacified populace.



The Arkinians:Though almost half the size of the Espannian Dominion, the Arkinian Dominion is nearly as

wealthy. This is due to its trader society and its willingness to make deals with other Dominions. TheArkinians are a trading people and its huge ships filled with all sorts of raw materials will be docking at

ports all over the galaxy.

The Arkinians are rich because they view humans as a resource. Nowhere in the galaxy is thequality of human life worse. Its citizens are slaves and it is not beyond the nobles to enslave captured populaces to work in the huge factories and ships that make the Arkinians so rich. In all, these poor souls are just another cog in the machine and can be easily replaced.

Despite this nihilistic view on life, the Arkinian army is well trained and are trained very matter-of-factly. They know their place and their place is to follow orders and to make sure that the maximalspoils of war are received.

Adventurers:Adventurers are politically neutral rag-tag groups of people who, as their name suggests,

adventure. These groups travel to planets in search of artifacts and wealth beyond their wildest dreams.Many of them also scavenge battlefields in search of items to re-sell. This often puts them into conflictwith many of the dominions who are also looking for these same objects or who are seeking to recover lost equipment. Most Dominions actually have shoot-on-sight orders against adventuring groups andsee them as no better than pirates. The Arkinians, however, actually strike deals with adventurer groupsin hopes of stealing enemy equipment and also the discovery of new places to mine.



The Azurians:The Azurians as of current control 3 base systems: Bandolizzar, Asharzunipal, and

Koln-Abaddon. Koln-Abaddon serves as the core system of the Azurians. The Azurians are incrediblysuperstitious and each family will typically pray to their ancestors and also to the various Azurian gods.The Dynasty-Lord of the Azurians is considered to be a god in human form. The Balshazzarian Cult is

the standard religion of the Azurians, and in addition to being polytheistic, the Cult also places a greatdeal of importance on machinery, which is held with the same amount of superstition. For this reason,those who can afford it will often purchase bionic parts. This belief stems from when humans were stilltied to irradiated Earth, where the radiation would damage their flesh. In order to avoid such pain, theywould replace parts of themselves with bionic parts. However, not everyone can afford such luxury andas a result, only the most wealthy will have synthetic limbs or parts. To the poor, these cyborgs are theepitome of life-the “Azurian Dream”.

In a way, the Azurians dislike extremes- they are very reserved with everything they do. Muchlike they dislike anything fully biological, they also dislike anything fully synthetic. Their space vesselswill often have humans built into the ship. Azurians are difficult to deal with because they think sodifferently compared to the other Dominions. They also do not interact kindly with other Dominons

because of the Cy-War.The Cy-War occurred during the Azurian golden age, where the Dominion had a stroke of luck

and discovered the incredibly mineral-rich system of Hatori. In response, virtually all of the other Dominions ganged up on the Azurians, reducing them to a few systems. To add insult to injury, theEspannian council decreed that they could not ever again raise an army.

Luckily for them, the Frebrenion Civil War that would take place less than a year later wouldtake the heat off of the massively weakened Azurians.

The Iron Age:The Azurians rule with Dynasties, the current being the Kassites. Its leader, Josiah Il-

Kordheimian promises a return to the great Azurian golden age. He has declared an Iron Age, onewhere all other Dominions will bow before the great Azurian cyborg warriors.



The Brenthons:The Frebrenion Dominion was once the greatest Dominion in the Crimson Galaxy. Its power

was sublime, for it controlled more systems than any other dominion and even the now-mightyEspannian dominion, for all of its success, did not compare.

This was all to change when an alien species infiltrated the dominion's highest ranking officials

and orchestrated the Frebrenion Civil War, in which the galaxy's most powerful dominion split itself intwo.The Brenthons were those who stayed loyal to their Dominionator. During the civil war, many

of the Frebrenion ground forces pledged themselves to the Frenthons, the defecting portion of thedominion. This left the Brenthons with a great portion of its naval power, but only a fraction of themanpower it had as a whole.

Although the Brenthons were able to succeed in driving away the Frenthons, it came at a veryhigh cost. More Brenthons are estimated to have died in this galaxy-wide conflict than have died sincethen. The Civil War has left the Brenthons with a seething hatred of the aliens who set the plan intomotion, and the Frenthons who joined of their own free will.

Despite its inferiority in manpower, it makes up for it with excellent training for its troops andits highly elite commando units. Its Royal Marines and Doom Berets are amongst the best equippedtroops in the galaxy, and can bring entire portions of planets under their control with little help from itsmain army.

It should be noted that many see the Civil War as a comeuppance for the Frebrenion meddlingin many other dominion's affairs, sometimes going as far to insert rebels for coups.



The EspanniansThe Espannian Dominion is currently the most powerful dominion in the galaxy, and most

collegia authorities would argue that this is due to chance. The finding of Heiromnion, for example,was pure chance. But regardless, the Espannians capitalized on the discovery and soon they werespreading outside the Lord's Dwelling.

Granted, they would soon lose this advantage as the Frebrenions began instilling rebels anddissent into Espannian colonies and took control, but the devastating Frebrenion civil war once againallowed the Espannians to climb to the top and declare themselves masters of the Crimson Galaxy.

A curious part of this Dominion is the fact that it does not have a leader by birthright-instead, ithas the highly bureaucratic Council, which will pass most of its laws after the Senate writes them (theSenate of course in reality is just a puppet). From time to time, the Council will decree what other dominions can and cannot do, but these rarely ever will produce fruitful results. For example, after Heiromnion it declared that only it could settle on new planets. This of course was blatantly ignored,much to the disgust of the pompous and arrogant Council.

Once every 4 years, the Council elects one of their own as Dominionator. Due to bribery andextortion and assassins, the entire voting process is a farce and the same Dominionator has been incontrol of the Dominion for about 35 years.

The Espannians have massive armies and fleets with the best technology that money can buy, but its training for its troops is lackluster at best. Nobles will buy their way into army and fleet positions, and they will know very little of how to command an army or navy. This has resulted inmany decisive defeats.

The final part of the Espannian dominion is the Order of the Interrogators, which will survey the populace for mutation and dissent and are known for killing without provocation and for being totallymerciless. The Interrogators, as they are known, are the iron fist of the Order and can occasionally beseen leading Espannian troops into battle.



Unit Descriptions:

The Arkinians Kopalitine

Kopalitines oversee the Provincial Troop regiments. Much like the Espannians, Kopalitines

come from the upper classes. Adventuring Privateer Captain

Many adventurers will look into becoming mercenaries for extra work. Mercenaries that arehired by Dominions are typically called Privateers. On some outer territories, Privateers serve in steadof actual state troops.

Arkinian RetinueMany Dominions have retinues but the Arkinians are the most famous for the advisors which

accompany its Kopalitines into battle.

AdventurersThese are adventurers that have been hired by a governor of an Arkinian colony. They often

know the layout of terrain and are beneficial to the Arkinian forces in the area.

Provincial TroopersThe sledgehammer of a governor's forces, the Provincial Troopers are the Arkinian Dominion's

front line troopers and are drawn from the most able of its PDF.



The Azurians Imperial Battalion Lootnint-Koemandint

These are the highest rank of Imperial Battalion commanders. They are a bit more free-thinkingthan their savage Legionnaires but still remember vestiges of their old life.

Imperial Battalion KaptannEach Kaptann commands a contingent of 500 Battalion Legionnaires. A Kaptann always leadsfrom the front to serve as an inspiration for the troops. Most Kaptanns still are incredibly violent andare not to be trifled with. They may also oversee sections of the PDF troopers.

PDF Troopers:In order to safeguard against enemy Dominions and to protect their meager systems, each

Azurian planet has a significant PDF trooper population. Every male that turns 17 is required to spendat least 2-3 years as a soldier to protect their planet from harm. The PDF is an immobile force and inrare cases will have units sent to support a campaign.

Interceptors:Where Legionnaires are the hammer of the Azurian dominion, Interceptors are the scalpel.

Armed with the hyper-accurate beamer and jump packs for increased movement, they are the ultimatehit-and-run unit and many battles have been won because of them.

Imperial Battalion Legionnaires:The Imperial Battalion is the most powerful arm of the Azurian military. It draws its recruits

from the scum of the galaxy: serial killers, psychopaths, and maniacs. These recruits are then brainwashed and fitted with bionics to make them powerful (and more importantly) controllablewarriors. They have a base on each Azurian planet and are the first responders to any crisis in anAzurian system. Their primary function, however, is as the vanguard for any attack on an enemy planet.



The Brenthons:The Brenthons control 5 base systems: Ola, Gliese, Phaeton, Vertomno, and Landor. Landor

provides the base of operations for the Brenthons. The Brenthons control many other systems but theseare the most noteworthy.

Master-At-Arms:A Master-At-Arms is a very prestigious position. The Master has access to the entire Brenthon armoryand has first pick of weaponry and other equipment.

Red Band Commander:These commanders oversee the main fighting troop of the Brenthon army, the Red Bands. And

unlike other dominions, these commanders have been chosen not for their wealth or social status butfor their intellect and military knowledge.

Royal Marine Lieutenant:If Royal Marines are the elite fighting troop of the galaxy, then the Lieutenant is the elite

commander. Not only have they survived countless encounters, but they also have the intelligence tomatch their strength.

Red Bands:Unlike many other Dominions, the Brenthons do not use conscripts. Instead, they have a

professionally trained army. The Red Bands are the result, and though they are few they have much better training than other Dominion troops.

Highlanders:A unit formed in honor of the Frebrenion Civil War, the Highlanders are those who are sworn to

protect Brenthon from any outside threat. To be a Highlander is an honor in and of itself, but it isincredibly dangerous. Highlanders are typically given Furm, a drug that increases a user's violenttendencies and decreases fear. Given a sword, bolter, and a force shield, the Highlanders can be seen atthe front of any Brenthon assault.

Royal Marines:One of the most elite troops in the entire galaxy, the Royal Marines are a small but select group

of individuals who will often form the spearhead of a Brenthon assault. They have been known toeliminate entire enemy strongholds by themselves.



The Espannians:

Interrogators:The Interrogators are servants of the Espannian Dominionator himself, sworn to seek out those whowould subvert his great empire. They are trained to kill mutants, rebels, and to destroy any form of

witchcraft both within the Espannian Dominion, and abroad. They are the most highly trained warriorsin the entire galaxy and are prepared for just about anything, but that's because they have to be.

Line Capitan:A frequent stop for Nobles who wish to bypass the annual conscription quotas, Line Capitans provideas commanders for the Conscript legions and also for their Line Infantry platoons.

Conscripts:The front-line troops of the Espannians, Conscripts are vital as they take the heat away from thevaluable Line Infantry units and also will support the Conquistadores. They are equipped with Laisersand light body armor. In most cases, the Conscripts are actually worth less than the equipment they aregiven. A Line Infantry sergeant will often command the conscripts into battle.

Line Troops:The line troops of the Espannian army consist of those who managed to dodge conscription and

instead went to a military boarding school, only of course to end up on the battlefield anyway. Linetroopers disdain conscripts, but they are still nothing more than meat shields for the Conquistadoresanyway.

Conquistadores: The upstart offspring of many nobles will become Conquistadores. The pull for becoming aConquistadore is that whatever they find during battle, they can keep. Being a Conquistadore isincredibly dangerous, but because of the spoils of war, is incredibly lucrative. There are often entirefamilies composed of Conquistadores. One notable example is the Miranda Y Nunvatez family, whichliterally owns an entire planet in the Varalian system because of their findings during the Subjugationof Hieromnion.As the Conquistadores come from very wealthy families, they will purchase the best equipment andweapons that money can buy. The preferred armor for these sons of nobles is the Eradikator Dread

powered suit, which can protect them long enough to make use of their newfound wealth!



The Perennially Popular Hate WarsThe once-a-decade Hate War that ravages the galaxy has been part of Dominion culture for as

long as its populace can remember. Its purpose is simple: ensure that the Dominionators have control of the population by forcing them to watch propaganda films on how great their own Dominion is, whileseeing how terrible all of the other Dominions are. Mutants and rebels are also thrown in a very

unfavorable light, but in retrospect they always are so there's nothing new there. With the populationwhipped into a frenzy, it is quite easy to gear the economy into preparing for a war effort.Hate Wars are believed to have begun thousands of years ago on decrepit Earth after Judgment

day, when knights rode to war under the banner of their lords. In that vein, experts on post-JudgmentDay human history have traced the concept of a “hatred war” to a certain Grandlord Rochster SimionGardun, who, according to manuscripts recovered during that time, hated people a lot. This utter intolerance for his fellow human beings led him to go on crusades where he and his men would killeveryone that they could find. Of course, after a while his list of targets grew ever smaller so he wouldgo on his hatred war about once every 5-10 Earth years instead of every year.

The Hate Wars are a win-win scenario, at least for the Dominionators that orchestrate it. A HateWar jump-starts the economy, keeps the populace under the control, and kills enemy soldiers. For the

populace, it adds some excitement to their terrible, mundane and ultimately meaningless lives.

Timeline of the Crimson Galaxy:

00000: Judgment Day, beginning of Dark Ages--Dark Ages--10200: Beginning of the Millennium War 10756: First unmanned satellite launched into space, end of Dark Ages10760: First manned space ship launched, crew lands on moon.11278: Azurians discover blueprints on the planet of Mars for intergalactic travel during a Hatred War 11303: Yandrago Dominion annihilated during destruction of Venus, end of Millennium War 12219: Hieromnion discovered by Espannians and subsequently colonized12250: Frebrenion invasion of Heiromnion repulsed by Espannian fleet12399: End of Cy-War, Treaty of Terref signed12400: Frebrenion Civil War begins12411: End of Febrenion Civil War 13088: Current Year



Entertainment in the Crimson GalaxyThe Feast of Blood:Incredibly popular in the Espannian Dominion but much less popular everywhere else (kind of likeAmerican football in the 21 st century), the Feast of Blood entails 2 contestants from each Espannian-controlled planet being flung into an unknown, hostile environment. This happens once every year, and

is always met with celebration and applause (Except from those who happen to know the contestants personally!). In a typical Feast of Blood, about half of the contestants will be brutally killed in somefashion on the first day. No expense is ignored in making each Feast of Blood better than the last, withall sorts of alien fauna and creatures being thrown into the fray.

The winner, or should it be said, the last standing contestant wins absurd amounts of money andother amenities which they can use to soften the fact that they'll definitely never be normal again. MostFeast of Blood winners will commit suicide or get addicted to all manner of drugs.

The Lightning Sphere:The Lightning Sphere is a place where two combatants engage in what is akin to the wrestling

of pre-Judgment day Earth, except that it happens in a zero-gravity setting. It is the most popular sportin the galaxy outside of kavlinball. Each Dominion has their own Heroes which combat in the arena.Heroes are huge, hulking individuals, and it is asserted (not without some truth) that their blood is morechemicals than anything else such is the amount of painkillers, mentally enhancing substances, andsteroids that go into them. The fights are bloody and “two men enter, one man leaves”.

Kavlinball Only really truly enjoyed by those in the lower classes, Kavlinball consists of people flying on

hoverboards attempting to drop a ball (Known as the Kavlinball, after Jorge Kavlin, the onlydeclassified inventor of Xerium gas) into a hoop on the opponent's side. Hoverboards are notoriouslyunstable and it is not uncommon for several people on each team to die during the contest. The rules inKavlinball are ever-changing to placate the masses and to make sure that they are always payingattention.

Intraweb forums have led to thousands of arm-chair Kavlinball players arguing over the rightstrategies to play, but the general consensus is that they are a bunch of neckbeards who wouldn't knowstrategy even if it eviscerated them with an Acheranian pylon-stinger.

So You Want to be the Galaxy's Greatest Warrior?Citizens from all Dominions sign up every year on the only show that “has all of the gore and

blood of a chainsaw battle in your living room, but without the mess!”The show pits chainsaw-equipped gladiators against all sorts of alien species, and also against

other gladiators. All of the action takes place in a cage called “the dodecahedron”. There are also judgeson hand to rate the fatalities of all of the members. The surviving gladiator with the most gruesomekills wins!



Weapons, Wargear, and Equipment in a Galaxy engaged in WarArmor:Most conventional armor works on the principle of sandwiching a chainmail esque material between

plastic and ceramic plate, with the ceramics facing the outside.

Powered Armor is unique in that it is an exoskeleton that uses carbon fibers which areelectromagnetically stimulated by movement. Then, this exoskeleton is covered by the plastic/ceramicarmor. The result is that powered armor increases the user's physical capabilities many times beyondthat of a mere mortal and offers protection beyond what normal armor could grant. It requires extensivetraining to use properly, and in the hands of capable troopers, is nigh undefeatable.

Powered Muscle Suits are similar to Powered Armor in that they increase the user's physicalcapabilities. However, instead of being protected by ceramic armor, it has additional carbon fiber toform armor. This results in a much more agile suit (and also much tougher) but the drawback is that itrequires even more training to use properly and can be expensive and laborious to create. The nicknamefor those who use these Muscle Suits are Aquanauts because of the 'bowl' shaped helm that the musclesuit has.

Dominatrix Suit: Used for scouting and for quick assaults, the Dominatrix does not provide the samesort of protection as heavier powered armor but makes up for it with an increased amount of carbonfibres in the legs for increased movement. It also incorporates a small shield generator.

Eradikator Armor is infamous for its use amongst the malicious Conquistadores who desire their ownsurvival above all others. The Eradikator Exo Suit is a Powered Muscle Suit except that in addition ithas the plastic/ceramic plate on top of the carbon fiber bundles, much like Powered Armor. This armor is incredibly powerful and virtually impossible to penetrate except by heavy military grade weapons.There are many stories of a single unit of Conquistadores conquering entire tribes of native specieswith this armor.

Suit of Chaxonixis: These suits are an anomaly, for they were not invented by any known Dominion. Itsappearance is disturbing, to say the least. It appears to be almost alive and over time actually bondswith its wearer and becomes impossible to remove without killing its owner. It acts much like poweredarmor as it increases strength and agility, however no scientist has been able to identify how it works.Furthermore, it reacts to changes in the user's body and has been found to actually grow aroundmutations of cult leaders.

Bionics:The flesh is weak, and is vulnerable to a plethora of toxic gas and other biological weaponry.

On the other hand, metal is strong and is not affected. Many nobles and elite commanders will have bionics for this very reason. With bionics, they can see further, move faster, lift more, and take moredamage without missing a beat. Although bionics are expensive because they must be custom made,they are nonetheless a very important part of the upper class culture.

Documents

Pirates of the Crimson Galaxy Fluff Bible