Celestial Jade: War In the Heavens

+Megan Bennett-Burks and I are a little over a week into our kickstarter for A Far Off Land, a project we have been writing for over a year now. As the tension is killing me I figured I needed something to take my mind off of it. So in the spirit of lowering my tension levels, here goes.

I was lurking over on rpg.net a few days ago and ran into a discussion about science fiction wuxia. In the thread Jadepunk was brought up as an option for running that sort of game. While +Ryan M. Danks  and I designed the game to be something like mystic cyberpunk we had also discussed the idea of doing a couple of different riffs on the game system. One of those(the one I was most interested in currently) was a space opera style Jadepunk game. The reminder in the thread led me to realize I could do a quick workup of the basics of the setting and maybe some cool assets that would fit in the setting. Thus do I begin the rough outline of a space opera setting for use with Jadepunk.

Far far into the future of Jadepunk...

Humans and their Autamatect creations long ago left their home world and traveled out into the wider universe. The jade drive allows for travel faster than light through some sort of alternative dimension not fully understood. Humans and their jadetech were first out and so dominate the heavens, though many other sophonts live within the human sphere of influence. 25 years ago the Great Interstellar War raged across the skies of countless worlds. Devastating weapons were unleashed and billions perished in blood and fire. Since the end of the war peace and unity have reigned. The unification of the Guild, The Church,  and the Major Powers into The Galactic Concordat led to a unified economic, political, and social system that dominates a majority of civilized space. 

Jade still stands tall as the most powerful and useful material in the universe. All intergalactic travel is dependent on it. The concordat control the largest jade resources in the known galaxy. The capitol was built in a vast asteroid field rich in multiple kinds of jade. The center of the Concordat builds and grows, as it does so too does its decadence and corruption. On the edges of civilization enemies, ancient and new, gather forces. The war is not over, it has just been in a long reprieve. 

Welcome to Kausao Station, the biggest, most wealthy mining colony in the 'verse, throne of the Galactic Concordat, and center of the universe. 

What do you do?
You play members of the Jianghu, rebels against the Concordat and defenders of the weak and helpless. The rules for characters remains the same as in standard Jadepunk. The technology is a little different, go more baroque and elegant in description rather than clunky and mystic jadetech normally described in the books. Autamatects work on the same rules as in teh previous Jadepunk setting hack.

The Basics
The Great Interstellar War: A conflict between the four major powers and many smaller polities that lasted for decades. Many great and terrible weapons were used. Planets were destroyed, Ancient peoples fell. The causes of the war are shrouded, the various stellar states were tied up in treaties with many smaller factions and causes and this became a tangled web of allegiance and enmity with no clear starting point. The war began as several smaller wars with the major powers supporting this faction or that. Eventually more than mere assistance was needed and the galaxy was at war in truth. It generally broke down into to two main factional sides, The Kaiyumi-Naramel Alliance and the Tuyang-Aerum Coalition.   It finally came to an end with the battle of Shui Xing 4. Due to a series of strategic mistakes nearly every major fleet ended up near the planet an surprised that the other fleets where there. Millions died in the first salvo. The strategists panicked and sent more fleets in, and more after that. What was an unimportant system became the center of the largest, longest, and most costly battle in the history of space. The battle lasted nearly a month, by the end billions had died. Within weeks what was left of the four powers had sued for peace. The peace accords were what led to an eventual unification of the Galactic Concordat out of the remaining great powers the church and the guilds.

Setting Aspects: Endless Scars of War; Old World Has Fallen, But Is Not Forgotten

The Galactic Concordat: In the wake of the Great Interstellar War the Guild and the Church combined forces to halt any future war of such magnitude. The gathered the remnants of the Major Powers and through political and economic pressure they pushed through the Concord forming the basis for a new government, a higher government. Each state within the Concordat can rule itself as it sees fit, but in terms of military or trade they must all follow the dictums of the concordat.

Aspects: Barely Unified Factions; Money, Power, and Security At All Costs

Kausao Station: The center of the Guild, it has rapidly become the center of all trade in the galaxy. When the Concordat was formed Kausao Station was chosen as the capitol for this new government. Now it stands not only as a center for trade, but for diplomacy and peace as well. With so much money and power the station has become a massive and complex web of interconnected factions and displaced peoples.

Aspects: Center For Trade and Politics; Too Big To Manage Properly

The Guild:  fractious and tenuous union between the six most powerful Mega Corporations in Known Space. Each has a near monopoly on a given Technology and so the Guild has a monopoly on everything the average person might need. Each Corp has a number of Nobles in their pockets which has lead to the

Aspects: We Make Everything; The Money Flows Like Water

The Periphery States: The various smaller states that exist outside of the Concordat as well as anything that might exist outside of known space are known as the Periphery States. Many of these are very upset with the Galactic Concord and the results of the Great Interstellar War. Now the region is too vast to properly patrol or maintain but rich enough to draw in colonists, miners, and traders. This has led to huge amounts of piracy and privateers.

 Aspects: Rogues States and Pirate Clans; Lawless Edge of Known Space

Ka-Dosh: Large six-limbed green skinned aliens, the Ka-Dosh were one of the first alien species encountered by humans. As such they are found throughout known space. They are known for their physical strength and desire for challenge. Many of the best and brightest in the galaxy are Ka-Dosh, as are many of the worst and most violent. Their culture was originally quite primitive when first discovered by outsiders, but in the centuries since have become as advanced as any other sophont.

Sample Ka-Dosh AssetYotsu No-Kin: A martial art that use the unique physiology of the Ka-Dosh. It is focused around fighting using multiple limbs simultaneously and fight multiple opponents at the same time. The following asset is just an example of what assets in this martial art might look like.
Guiding Aspect: Something involving knowing Ka-Dosh Martial arts or Yotsu No-Kin specifically
Features: Focus 1(+1 Fighter), Harmful 1, Protective 1
Flaws: Situational(Only when facing opponents with fewer limbs than the user), Troubling(Collateral Damage)
Cost: 2

Bevrai: Quadrupedal shelled elephantine aliens of great intellect, the Bevrai are some of the greatest philosophers and theoretical scientists in the galaxy. They have more sensory organs than any other sophont in the known galaxy, which has given them something of a mystical reputation among many. They make extensive use of technology since their meeting with the galactic society. Their language is slow and lyrical in nature, much of it transmitted long distances  through ultra low frequency sound. Each Bevrai has a song they add to throughout their life. When they meet back up with family or friends after a long absence each will sing their song to the others. It builds into strange and alien harmonies that few outsiders have had the blessing to encounter.

Sample Bevrai AssetMechanical Waldoes: In order to use the technology of the external galaxy the Bevrai make use of mechanical arms designed to give them better ability with technology designed for sophonts with opposable digits. The Waldoes use black jade to read the desire of the wielder and translate that into mechanical movement. There are other types of waldoes that are designed for more specialized service, such as a rifleman mod for using guns.
Function Aspect: Black Jade Prosthesis
Features: Focus 2(+1 Engineer, +1 Scoundrel)
Flaw: Situational(Only when interacting with Technology that requires hands to use)
Cost: 1

Youxia: Ancient order or mystic knights who once defended an ancient stellar kingdom, now lost to history. The few remaining Youxia wander the cosmos as wandering troubleshooters and sometime heroes. Many a Jianghu Society has been led by powerful Youxia. The Shimah-Kan have a standing bounty on any Youxia brought in.

Sample Youxia Asset 

Blaze Edge: The weapon of a Youxia, spoken of in many legends. The Blaze edge uses multiple forms of jade to create an edge of pure plasma, capable of cutting through nearly anything. Youxia only attained the Blaze Edge upon mastering the martial arts ad mental disciplines of their order. Few remain, and few Youxia remain with the knowledge to make another.
Function Aspect: Multi Jade Plasma BladeFeatures: Exceptional(prevent opponent from checking stress boxes on a successful strike), Harmful 2
Flaws: Demanding 2(requires a turn and a Scholar roll against difficulty +2 in order to use it for the scene), Troubling(Wanted, For One Reason Or Another)
Cost: 1

Shimah-Kan: Chosen inquisitors of the Concordat. They have an edict to investigate any insurrection or disharmony. They are trained to be the best and most dangerous of all the forces of the Concordat. They have absolute loyalty to the state and are equal to any squad of lesser forces. Many of their techniques are expansions of Youxia martial arts. This has led to an enmity between these to forces. They often come into conflict with Jianghu Societies.

Sample Shimah-Kan Asset 

Inquisitor Armor: The Shimah-Kan have specialized suits of armor that grant them enhanced abilities and protection. Each set of armor is custom designed for each Shimah-Kan, and so each might have additional features beyond the basic set of features provided by the armor.
Function Aspect: Intimidating Inquisitor ArmorFeatures: Protective 1, Focus 2(+1 Explorer, +1 Fighter)
Flaws: Situational(only when facing enemies of the Concordat), Troubling(Iron Fist of the Concord)
Cost: 1

Jade Drive: the only known method of travel faster than light. To do this you must use all the colors of jade and pass a huge amount of electricity through it all at once. Ships use large capacitors to do this. The number of capacitors a ship contains alters the number of jumps a ship can rapidly make. The Jade Drive does not allow for slower than light travel, and so a ship must also have a normal space drive. To use the drive you must take a full scene and make a roll. First you must make a scholar roll based on knowledge and distance of of the location you are attempting to jump to(Nearby system +1, Mid Ranged System +2, Far off System +3, Well Known route +1, Somewhat Known Route +2, Briefly Explored Route +3, Unknown Route +4) Combine the difficulties from distance and knowledge to get the total difficulty of the roll. If you succeed with style you make the jump with no difficulty and you create a beneficial aspect relating to the new system you are coming into. If you succeed normally you arrive with no difficulty. If you fail your ship gains a primarily negative aspect relating to damage done by travelling faster than light.


And there sits the basics of a Jadepunk Space Opera Wuxia Setting. I hope you liked it. I would love any comments critiques or idea, so please share. Also please check out the new game I am currently Kickstarting, A Far Off Land. It is a game about people from our world who travel to another realm, a realm of myth and legend. Magic is real and you play those few who can use it in both worlds without terrible consequences. Check it out and spread the word. Thanks.

A Far Off Land