In this second post in the creation of a Hall of Infamy for the Beta Quadrant, I will be developing information on the Four Minor Enemies of the setting.
As a reminder, the Hall of Infamy reflects those established villains and antagonists who are a problem from Day One, when the campaign begins. These are the foes that are mentioned on newscasts and spoken of in those seedy bars that adventurers tend to hang out in when they are looking for gainful employment. These are potentially the guys that may become a thorn in the side of the party over time as they go about their own personal plans. Therefore, it's best to drop seeds about them from the beginning of the game. Hence, we need to create a Hall of Infamy. Last post, we identified the Supreme Enemy and two Major Enemies. Now we get to wrap things up.
Based on my previous post, we identified the following Minor Enemies that I'd like to develop for the Beta Quadrant. For the Koyane Subsector, I identified the Brothers of Sakari as being a great source of conflict to motivate adventures in the Koyane Shogunate. Star Admiral Mahmoud Pasha of Bastet works well for adventuring in the Gleti Subsector. In Litha Subsector, the fanatical Holy Crusaders of the Moldandan Universal Church give us great potential for adventures. So far, I've got three distinct flavors: psionic terrorists, vengeful naval operations, and religious zealotry in space. Looking over details for Tabaldak Subsector, I look to identify a nice potential for a Minor Enemy. I could use the Star Emperor's Navy, but there's also the Abubakar Complex, a government facility located on Mantis that supports privateers affiliated with the Jengu Alliance, and the Lutasas Trade Union, a guild of opportunistic traders with questionable practices. Of those that I've defined so far, the group with the highest Tech Level is the Star Emperor's Navy, so I'll detail them below as my fourth option. As always, if you have any feedback or further suggestions, don't be afraid to leave a comment to this post.
Brothers of Sakari
The Brothers of Sakari are the remnants of the psionic oligarchy that once ruled Koyane, before a civil war placed the anti-psionic Emishi Faction into power thirty years ago. Since then, these psionic freedom fighters continue to wage a sporadic war against the Emishi faction in the hopes of recovering their lost empire. These conflicts, as well as the overzealous reactions of the Emishi Faction, have been extremely violent, spilling over as civilian casualties. The situation continues to escalate as the Emishi Faction pursues its pogrom against psionicists.
Resources: Psionic training; respect from older nobility; military-grade training and equipment.
Agenda: Restore the Fujiwara Clan into power over the Koyane Shogunate.
Opposition: Nadie Takhi, Factor of Malsumis; Psion-hunters.
Connections: Any character might have suffered a loss or wound due to terrorist activity; Military characters may have performed actions against terrorist cells and sights; Nobility may have friends or foes among their members.
Holy Crusaders of the Moldandan Universal Church
The domed city of Moldanda maintains an interstellar strike force that identifies itself as the Holy Crusaders of the Moldandan Universal Church. This small ramshackle space navy performs raids on nearby worlds and interstellar merchants, seeking food, life support and, when possible, military-grade hardware. Other star systems regard the Holy Crusaders of the Moldandan Universal Church as little more than Moldandan privateers, and maintain vigilance against the raiders.
Resources: Stolen/purchased starships; military-grade training.
Agenda: Support their sacred service as the Chosen Protectors of the Iridium Chasm.
Opposition: Haligani Star Raiders; Bounty hunters.
Connections: Merchant characters might have been hit by the Holy Crusaders; Military characters may have performed some military strike or defense action against the Holy Crusaders.
Star Admiral Mahmoud Pasha of Bastet
A personal friend to Pharaoh Seshi Semerkhet II of Bastet, Mahmoud Pasha was once a Star Admiral for his homeworld of Seshat. Dismissed from duty and exiled in utter secrecy for his discovery that the Five Families are pursuing less noble aims, Admiral Pasha sought refuge with his most powerful friend. Enjoying the Pharoah's protections, Admiral Pasha has gathered together a mercenary naval squadron, and now performs acts of piracy and raiding on the worlds of nearby systems, striking Five Families vessels in particular. Despite their smaller numbers, Admiral Pasha's Personal Navy often survives due to exceptional naval tactics. The most talented of the Admiral's crews are former students of his, who have joined their mentor out of loyalty.
Resources: Military-grade starships; well-trained naval officers.
Agenda: Vengeance against the nobility of Seshat; Pursuit of efforts to oppose the Five Families.
Opposition: Five Families; Traders serving Seshat.
Connections: Any character may have encountered the naval squadrons of Admiral Pasha; Naval characters may have studied under Admiral Pasha; Characters working for the Five Families may have been the subject of one of Admiral Pasha's attacks.
Star Emperor's Navy
The Star Emperor's Navy has recently begun attacks on other worlds. Although many of these efforts are aimed at collected resources and interfering with the flow of goods, a number of these efforts support Star Emperor Shikike Todei's efforts to weaken and subjugate new worlds to add to his future interstellar empire. His forces are fierce, determined and well-armed with smaller warships.
Resources: Naval base; Scout base.
Agenda: Forge an interstellar empire under the Star Emperor's rule.
Opposition: Lutasas Trade Union; Nadie Takhi, Factor of Malsumis.
Connections: Any character may have lived in an outlying settlement that suffered an attack by the Star Emperor's forces; Military characters may have performed some military strike or defense action against the Star Emperor; Navy or Scout characters may have served on one of the now-captured bases on Djinn.
With my next post, I will commence with Step Eight, that being to fill in the blanks, making sure any obvious holes are covered. As the process I'm using for the Traveller Sandbox Experiment is based on developing a fantasy setting, so there's always a chance that an interesting world might fall through the cracks. This is where we catch them so we don't lose them.
More Later,
Flynn
PDF
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment