Spoiler: What's different from Star Wars?
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Since I'm using a system designed around Star Wars, it's important to outline some differences.
Star Wars, ultimately, is meant to seem like another world. From the claim of A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, to the energy weapons and floating vehicles, Star Wars is meant to be fantasy set in space and that's before The Force gets involved. Of course, their technology is also a bit varied in terms of how advanced it is, with fully sapient droids having to manually aim a ship's turrets. This too contributes to a sort of Western or WWII in space feel. It's a unique aesthetic and I have no intention of copying it.
Instead, this setting has its share of advanced technology, the kind that doesn't exist in Star Wars. From things such as limited teleportation and portable shields, to genetic modification and advanced computerization indeed, the main reason organic beings are still involved in war at all is because hacking and electronic counter-measures are also highly advanced. Every technology has a counter, and the entire point of some fields of technology is to make other technology useless.
Perhaps because of this last fact, there's also a fair amount of tech that we would find recognizable. People in this setting don't throw out proven technology just because something new and shinier can do the same thing for ten times the electricity requirements. As such, metal bullets propelled by explosions are still the primary infantry weapon. Miniature mechsuits and tracked tanks get air support from attack helicopters and jets. Technology has been refined, but rarely has it been reinvented.
That leads into one page I do take from Star Wars' book. Star Wars, put simply, looks lived-in. It's got dirt, it's got clutter, and in so doing it seems almost... familiar. Homely. By contrast, to quote a friend of mine, the bridge of the USS Enterprise in the most recent Star Trek films looks like the inside of an Apple store. And it's the former style I want to emulate. In Star Wars, even the insane high-rises of Coruscant stand above a seedy underhive. And in my own setting, there certainly are spit-shined surfaces and computer lights, but travel far enough and you'll find a thin coating of dust, grime, soot, graffiti, and occasionally blood over tried-and-true machinery.
One more thing the sci-fi magic. Star Wars has The Force, which has its own fascinating lore, and I wouldn't even attempt to copy that over. So instead, in my setting, we've got psychic powers. It lacks much of the mysticism of The Force (although people can certainly see it as mystical), but it still has its mystery especially since psychic powers are new to this setting, coming from a mysterious source, and those who develop them don't show a clear pattern. And like the Jedi, those with psychic powers are quite important to the setting... but more on that later.
Spoiler: The Intro!
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Once, the galaxy was a different place. Thousands of species and millions of different worlds... and too many of them in some sort of conflict with each other. All for reasons insignificant in the grand scheme of things. And yet, one of these conflicts would reshape the entire galaxy, though none knew it at the time. This war was the work of the Terran Coalition, which sought to expand and secure its hold among the stars, even at the expense of the species in their path. Opposing them were the various species of the Corundorian Union, an alliance formed and centered around the world of Corundor, whose native species had been a primitive people until the arrival of human colonists over a century prior. Though the Terrans had great success at first, the resourcefulness of the Union threatened to undo all of the conquests the Coalition had made. But then, a breakthrough occurred for the Coalition the discovery of an ancient alien space station and its reactor.
Scattered throughout the galaxy were ruins and devices left behind by an alien race, known only as the Ancients, that had lived millions of years previously. Most of what was left behind was inactive, and assumed to be as dead as their creators. But the construct found by the Coalition, half-buried on a desolate planet named Requiem, was different. Coalition scientists were able to reactivate it, and even get it back into space and able to travel to other star systems. Experimentation showed that it was capable of producing massive amounts of energy, far more than anything else the Coalition had at their disposal. Enough to power the technology of an entire planet. But if that energy were improperly directed, it could destroy everything on the planets surface instead.
The military uses for such a device were obvious, and the Coalition wasted no time in putting the station to use. They sent it against the Union world of Arovan, which just weeks earlier had repelled an attack by a substantial Coalition fleet. The Union defenses could do little against the station, for the Ancients could build their structures out of materials so strong, conventional weapons barely left scratches or burn marks on it.
In the end, the Union forces could do nothing but flee as the artifact's power scorched the surface of the world, burning away every trace of resistance and leaving only a desolate rock behind.
The entire Union was shaken by the reports of a massive, seemingly invincible artifact and the power it possessed. Even worse was the report that its next target was Corundor itself, in an attempt to break the spirit of the Union. There was little time to muster forces, and even less time to form a plan. But there was no choice. This station, this reactor which they named the Devastation Engine had to be stopped, at any cost.
As the Devastation Engine arrived in Corundor's system, its escort fleet was promptly engaged by every ship the Union could gather. But this was nothing more than a screening action for transports to board the station and find some way, any way, to destroy it or shut it down. Heroes on both sides fought inside and outside the Engine, with the fate of Corundor in the balance.
No one knows what exactly happened inside the Devastation Engine halls and systems. But as fleets battled for dominance or survival above Corundor, the Engine's power generators began to go into overdrive, rapidly building up far more energy than was needed to destroy all life on the planet below. Its operators had any control over the Engine anymore, finding that the jury-rigged control mechanisms they'd installed no longer functioned. Instead, something from within the Engine was waking up, and it did not like any part of the situation it found itself in.
The first thing it did was to fire up its drive systems, halting its progress towards Corundor. Then, it sent out a wave of psychic energy, a compulsion to every single combatant around it to cease fighting at once. The next wave it sent was even more powerful and far-reaching, a call into the void for every other relic of the Ancients, all across the galaxy, to awaken as well. Most stayed dead. A good portion of the remainder merely went into a standby mode, functional but inactive. But those that fully activated were able to exert enough influence to change the very nature of the galaxy itself, if not even further beyond. Across the Milky Way, anomalies in space appeared, wonders and dangers in equal measure, as matter, energy, and space reacted to the sudden changing of the laws of reality. But more than that... from that point onward, there would arise individuals with psychic potential the same power, it was now known, that the Ancients once possessed.
And with this act, the Devastation Engine went cold, its systems burned out from the sheer amount of energy it had channeled. Perhaps it chose to burn itself out.
The galaxy would later come to know this event as the Psychic Awakening. But at the time, few realized its significance. The surviving forces of both sides withdrew from the ruin of the Devastation Engine, the Terran forces leaving the system entirely. It was merely a ceasefire... but the seeds for true peace had been sown.
Slowly, those with psychic abilities began to realize the power that was growing within them, the potential they possessed. And though these individuals were rarer than one in a hundred thousand, each of them possessed a supernatural awareness, a sense of the vastness of the universe with other psychics shining like stars in the abyss. They were aided in this by some of the artifacts left behind by the Ancients a web of psychically resonant devices that spanned the galaxy. Many of its nodes had been destroyed over millions of years, but enough remained to form a functional communications grid, a means for psychics to reach out and contact others like them. This contact was slow at first, with psychics just forming connections with random others across the galaxy, beings they had no hope of ever meeting in person. But the connections grew and multiplied, and with them grew a sense in many of the psychics of being a part of something greater. And within this network grew the idea perhaps planted by the relics of the Ancients that the wars across the galaxy could be ended, and that a galactic peace, if not galactic unity, could be achieved. Or at least, that was the hope.
Not every psychic in the galaxy chose to work towards this purpose, but many did, using their ability to communicate discreetly over any distance to their advantage, along with whatever powers they had to alter the world around them. Plans were made and set in motion to steer the course of the various forces in the galaxy towards cooperation and coexistence, or at the very least away from conflict. Not all of these plans succeeded, but each success let the psychics leverage the diplomatic and if necessary military might of another culture towards their goal. Some victories took patience, others took blood, and still others took luck. Not all successes were permanent. But the course of the galaxy had been set, and there were a growing number of beings wishing to see it through.
Twenty years after the Psychic Awakening, the two factions indirectly responsible for it the Terran Coalition and the Corundorian Union finally put their differences aside, and formed the Orion Alliance. It was only five years after that that they managed to persuade the Zodine League to join them, for while the League did nothing except by the unanimous agreement of its four distinct species, they were accustomed to working as part of a whole. The Reptonian Empire should have been a challenge, for the Redracoids that ran it desire only to prove their strength in combat while their Ceruleoid servants desire nothing more or less than fulfilling their purpose. Yet, the Redracoids understand the difference between a war and a good fight, and the Ceruleoids had generations of experience manipulating their masters into doing what was best, so it was only six years before they too joined the Alliance. The cunning Zekkai joined four years after that, largely out of pragmatism and a desire for protection from the nearby Ophios, but also out of respect for the wit the Alliance's negotiators had shown in forming a bond between so many different cultures.
The last addition was the Gerron Dominion, and it was this victory that was the most Pyrrhic, for it only came after a ten-year-long war. It couldn't be any other way, for the Gerron or at least, the only culture of theirs that had survived this long - were an arrogant, amoral race bent on domination, and the old Coalition, Union, and Empire had reasons to hate them going back centuries. The military might of the growing Alliance was tested, and proved true. Every other war against the Gerron had been one of defense, and won only at great cost, but this time the Alliance pushed forward into the heart of Gerron territory. For the first time in the Dominion's history, their forces were crushed, and their homeworld of Gerrovenalon was besieged, shattering the Gerron's self-image of superiority. Hundreds of millions died in the conflict. And yet, at the end, with the Gerron worlds in ruins, the Alliance offered the chance to rebuild. It was a risk, and a hard one to sell to both leaders and citizens of the Alliance. But the Gerron had long believed that the losers in a war should adopt the culture of the victors, and the psychics in the Alliance had predicted that they would apply this belief to themselves, especially if the victors ran their worlds better than they had. It was a prediction that, in the end, was proven correct. It was not quick, or easy, but positive change had begun for the Gerron.
All this was a microcosm of events happening across the galaxy. And as the influence of the psychics grew, they set up pairs of jump gates, devices that allowed two-way travel across vast distances in seconds. The technology had existed for some time, but it required two gates to be set up in advance, their creation and activation carefully synchronized, so in general they only linked locations within nations, systems that weren't far away from each other to begin with. But with the psychics' ability to coordinate across any distance, pairs of jump gates could be built that spanned the galaxy. Slowly, more and more of the galaxy became connected, allowing species and cultures to interact that had never contacted one another before.
There was, of course, no hope of actually forming a galactic government. No mortal government could possibly hope to administer the thousands of species of the galaxy with any effectiveness, even if those species could actually agree on a form for that government to take. Better for the hundreds of thousands of worlds in the galaxy to govern themselves, yet remain united. Still, the psychics determined that some sort of galaxy-spanning organization would be helpful, and so the Galactic Peacekeepers were formed. This would be the trickiest task of all, they felt not so much founding an organization dedicated to preserving peace, but making sure they stayed true to the ideals to which they were originally dedicated. There are too many species in which power corrupts, after all, and an organization with as much military power as the Peacekeepers could all too easily become an instrument of tyranny. But they felt it was worth the attempt, and they trusted themselves to be able to keep the Peacekeepers true. And so, the Peacekeepers were formed, not only to prevent and end wars, but to uphold basic rights and morality for life in the galaxy.
It has been 100 Terran years since the Psychic Awakening, 80 years since the formation of the Alliance, and 50 years since the creation of the Galactic Peacekeepers. On the galactic level, peace and unity no longer seem like distant dreams. This isn't to say that the Peacekeepers aren't busy, however, for peace, prosperity, and morality are fragile things that must be constantly maintained. The Alliance itself knows this too well, ever since the War of the Four Tyrants 10 years ago that threatened to undo all that had been gained. Even the psychics are not a monolithic group, but are divided into a number of separate factions. Some merely wish to hone their abilities in peace, but others disagree on what the course of the galaxy should be, and still others pursue their own agenda.
Even on the local level, there is still conflict. Pirates and other outlaws still find room to operate, and mercenaries have no shortage of work. Countless beings jockey for power at every level of organization. Sometimes conflict reaches the level of violence, other times it takes the form of scheming and intrigue. Peace, it seems, is relative.
The good news is that there's plenty of opportunity for a freelancer to find adventure and profit. And perhaps, some of them might change the course of history in their own way.
Spoiler: Idea 1: Freelancers
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The PCs are freelancers of some sort, currently on planet Cherandai, second planet of the home system of the Terratoria species. It is one part mining colony, one part manufacturing center, one part junkyard, and one part cosmopolitan mixing pot. Rulership of the urban zones is shared between the actual Terratorian government (the Governing Authority), and various factions whom the government more or less allows to handle things at the ground level so long as they behave themselves. Some of these factions have both legitimate and underworld sides to them, though most are careful not to antagonize the Terratorian government. One of these factions, is led by a powerful individual named Ziral, who is not only responsible for running the southeast side of the city of Advent, but also has a hand in smuggling and black markets. So, not the best of people, but far from the worst of criminals. For whatever reason, your player character has come to his attention - or perhaps, sought it out. And as it happens, Ziral has use for a group of freelancers who can get things done
Notes: I've actually started this campaign with an IRL gaming group. On the one hand, it means I'll be doing this again, but on the other... I've got a decent amount planned out, and the PCs might well take different actions. In any event, it allows the most free reign as far as player characters go, as they could be everything from bounty hunters, mercenaries, and general talent-for-hire... to agents from the planetary government or even the Galactic Peacekeepers, sent to keep tabs on the rapidly escalating events.
Spoiler: Idea 2: Soldiers For the Cause
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It's been eight years since the end of the War of the Four Tyrants, an interstellar conflict that nearly split the Orion Alliance apart, and tested the Peacekeepers' ability to live up to their ideals and achieve their goals. In the end, only one of the Tyrants escaped justice a powerful psychic known only as Lord Cypher. True to his name, he always wore a face-concealing helmet in public, with a device to distort his voice and though he was defeated in battle, he was able to flee the scene, and afterwards he simply vanished. The ways for such a psychic to remain hidden are endless but that hasn't stopped the Peacekeepers from trying to find him.
The player characters are part of the latest team assigned to track down ex-Lord Cypher. But after eight years, there's little hope of finding him, and the search is mostly just a formality until new evidence arises. But you've got a new lead, in the form of Gabriel Dune, current pirate lord, but former commander for the Four Tyrants. He's one of the few people who might have seen Cypher's face, or have any insight into the man himself. And he's recently been captured, convicted of a variety of crimes, and sent off to the Alliance prison at Proserpina. It's not much of a lead but it's worth following. The Peacekeepers, after all, never give up on bringing the guilty to justice.
Notes: A little more structured than the previous idea, in the sense that you're part of a command structure. I plan for that structure to be somewhat loose, but it will be there. On the bright side, you'll have a pretty well-established supply chain, allies to call upon, even a starship to use as a base (though you'll no doubt want one of your own in time!).
Spoiler: Idea 3: Mildly Military
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Among the Peacekeepers, the Ranger Corps is the most free-spirited, as well as the least restricted, and the least-visible. To most people, they appear to be bounty hunters, mercenaries, or vigilantes, but this is merely a disguise, for in truth they serve the cause of peace and justice. A combination of plainclothes law officers, reserve military, and secret agents, they are the first line of defense against corruption and tyranny, but they also find themselves busy taking on organized crime or even just helping ordinary people.
And boy, do your characters find themselves busy as Rangers. Your current assignment is on planet Erishkigal, a mostly-human world known for its manufacturing and shipbuilding capabilities, as well as for political discontent and crime at all levels of organization. Also, the climate's terrible. Things are rough as it is, but there's also rumors of a plague of some sort spreading among the populace, adding fuel to the fire. You're there to put the proverbial fires out before they become an inferno. As Rangers, you are both inside and outside the law, and you've got broad powers when it comes to making a difference in peoples' lives. The Rangers believe in results and any result that involves people being able to sleep safely in their beds at night, with full stomachs and a roof over their head, is worth the cost.
Notes: Here we have the in-between, where the PCs are both freelancers able to go their own way, and also in service to a higher authority. You've got backing, but only to a point, and in exchange for that limitation you also have freedom to act as you see fit... but also only to a point.
