Maelstrom

Introduction

Prominent Races

Maelstrom Map

Sector Traits

Godshatter

Desert
Resource Poor
Dawn War Artefacts x2
Precursor Artefacts
A vast expanse of stars that was the birthplace of the Dawn War, Godshatter is an immense sector of space, as big as the entire Orion Arm. Full of exhausted worlds and husked solar systems, there are few concentrated resources here. Outside of rare encounters with enigmatic Solip Emmisary Machines no sentients call this place home. Riches still await the dedicated explorer though, as Dawn War relics abound - but for every explorer who discovers valuable treasure, a hundred perish at the hands of sleepless Dawn War weapons or enraged Chan-Su.

Polities
The Nemesis
Chan-Su
Dawn War Races

Deliverance

Garden Sector
Fallow
Dawn War Artefacts
Resource Rich
Slow Zone
No sector of space has more stories about it than Deliverance. Wiped clean by a terrible weapon in the Dawn War, space-time has been damaged across much of this sector, locking many worlds within bubbles of slow space. The rainbow skies of Avrilla and the golden seas of Midas are but two of the most famous. Other legends say it is haunted, the spirits of trillions of sentients prowling between the howling darksides of its million suns, awaiting foolish explorers.

Polities

No known polities exist in Deliverance, however, legand tells of Mintar, the Golden Dyson, a vast megastructure said to lie somewhere in the sector, and hold a civilisation of incredible power known as the golden ones.

Certain dawn war machines have been known to arise in the area as well.

Recently, a history of scattered reports have come to light originating from regions near the borders. These point to unexpected of metastable strange matter.

Creation’s Fountain

Nebula
Trade Routes
Fast Zone
Mega Structures
Imperialised

The spinward end of the Silver trade empire, Creations Fountain is controlled by the Silver Empire, who have fortified various of it's megastructures to serve as positions to defend against the possibility of a renewal of the Dawn War in godshatter or other possible emergency threatening this end of the Orion arm, as well as suppress the local Chimerics

The megastructures, mostly dyson spheres and ring worlds were created by mysterious beings known as the Deepers, who seem to exist only to build these massive artifices to purposes unknown

Polities
Star Federation of Aitarius
Sanvarnavet
Silver Empire (Including all Ubiquitous Races)
Deepers
House of Ash and Coral (Vesperis)
United Enclaves (Bressleris)
Egomish (Chimerics)
Rootless (Humans)
Nilfari colonies

Tolerance

Garden Sector
Defensible
Resource Rich
Slow Zone

Near the end of the Silver Trade Roots, but untouched due to the spatial effects which render FTL travel difficult, Tolerance would be ripe for exploitation if one of the Orion Arm’s major polities was ever to take the time to properly uncover it.

Until recently however, the sector remained mostly fallow and empty, with only a few sentient species of any importance, mostly happily, though slowly expanding using the sectors rich natural resources. In more recent times however, several major empires have flowered in the area, drawing attention from outside.

Several Nilfari colonies also exist in the area

Polities
League of Dark Stars
The Free Worlds
Cirquadian Empire
The Covenant of Rauj'kan Bak
Nirvana Hegemony (Garni)
Kir (Natsumi)
Nilfari colonies

Arcane

Trade Routes
Fast Zone
Mega Structures
Precursor Artefacts
Imperialised

The Vesperis polity known as the House of Pearl and Brass rules this sector from several vast shoal worlds, vast swarms of habitats that move in an intricate pattern like a shoal of fish, extracting taxes in the various ships that ply the areas trade patterns.

This toll, usually extracted in the form of mass and energy is the source of considerable tension between the House of Pearl and Brass and the Silver Empire, who find free trade ideological preferable, and if forced to pay a toll would far rather do so using market economic value metrics rather than mass/energy.

This sector also plays host to numerous precursor megastructures and artifacts, which brave or foolish travelers often attempt to exploit, sometimes falling foul of guarding Chan-Su, or worse.

Polities
Eldilan Concord [1]
Ma'tar Signatory [2]
House of Pearl and Brass (Vesperis)
Silver Empire
Chimerics
Chan-Su

Harmonious Repose

Paradise Sector
Cosmopolitan
Precursor Artefacts
Singularity Artefacts
Mega Structures

One of the most populous sectors in the Orion Arm, Harmonious Repose is widely judged to be the sector destined to produce the civilisations which will become major players in the Orion arm in the next era.

Due to the amount of living space there, almost all species in the Orion arm maintain at least outposts in Harmonious Repose.

Polities

The Symphony
The August Empire of Jade
The Empire of Ciras Ne
The Brothers
The Mindi Dynasty (Churess)
The Green Banner Council (various)
Veminite Democratic Imperium (Balwar)
Many, many others

Void Heart

Nebula
Trade Route
Cosmopolitan
Microstates

Polities
The Armend Pact
The Giddant Trade Union
Silver Empire
Many others

A peaceful sector on the Silver’s great trade route, Void Heart remains largely untroubled by war or strife, and for now the Silver’s hand on the sector remains a relatively light touch.

Rampant

Mega Structures
Desert Sector
Singularity artefacts
Resource Rich
War Zone

Sometimes known as the 'Autowar Deeps', Rampant has become the home to many clades of these ancient self-replicating weapons. Gorged on the rich resources of this sector, they continue to carry out their ancient missions, whatever they may be, fiercely resisting any attempts by the powers of Voidheart or Harmonius Repose to gain a foothold.

This sector also holds a string of Amaterasu bases, including their main Dyson, from which they wage a tireless campaign against the various machine life here.

Polities
God Machines (AIs)
Peace Macines (AIs)
Malkinshi Emirates (Malkinshi)
Amaterasu (Transhumans)
Protectorate (humans and AIs)

Domain

Paradise Sector
Singularity artefacts
Precursor artefacts
War Zone

Home to one of the most successful transhuman and populous polity groups in the Orion arm (the Expanse), as well as an extension of the Silvers trade route down the arm, Domain has been traditionally regarded as a relatively stable place, despite tensions between the Expanse and local Jalk and Chimeric elements, and all threes wariness about possible encroachment by the Silver.

Recently however the introduction of a new player onto the scene has turned the entire sector into a warzone, with all four of the Sectors factions contesting for dominance.

The new faction, the Thrashi are an amazingly powerful race of hive minded beings, capable of rapidly producing various specialist life forms for any purpose, and also possessing high technology. Accounts differ as to what started the war, but whatever you believe, the sector has now tipped into war.

Both the Silver and the Protectorate and Concord of Overload are considering intervention to attempt to restore order.

Polities
Expanse (Transhumans)
Sleeper Kingdoms (Jalk)
Chimerics (various factions)
Thrashi

Overload

Mega Structures
Singularity Artefacts
Microstates
Precursor Artefacts

Ground Zero for Humanity's singularity, Overload is amptly named. It was here that the greatest singularity since the Dawn War was lit and where it is both most pervasive and most iconic. In the shadows of the great works of the Human archailects a myriad of tiny states squabble for fleeting preminence.

A few signficant states do survive however, primarily the Protectorate, a human/AI civilisation around Sol, and the Concord, a mostly human civilisation that has embraced inclusive acceptance of different cultural models and the use of relatively 'safetech' approaches to avoid any possibility of another damaging outbreak of singularity

Polities
The Curators
Singularity life forms
Protectorate
Concord
Many others

Invictus

Trade Sector
Migration Route
Dawn War Artefacts
Imperialised
War Zone

With the emergence of the Shadrith Khanate, perhaps the biggest Chimeric Empire since the fall of the massive Empire of Ten Thousand Kings half a millennium ago, the once peaceful sector of Invictus has been plunged into a savage war zone.

The Silver Empire, ever reluctant to see the re-emergence of a major Chimeric Polity, especially one that would threaten their precious trade routes launched a pre-emptive strike on the Khanate almost as soon as it was established. However the Chimerics have proved far more difficult to combat than expected, and what was supposed to be a short war has dragged on for years on end with no end in sight.

Polities
The Golden Suzereinity
The United Confederated Star Systems
Shadrith Khanate (Chimerics)
Silver Empire
Valciens
United Federated Nations (Humans)

Cloud Sea

Nebula
Hell sector
Singularity artefacts
Desert Sector

The influence of the Orion Nebula has left few habitable worlds in the Cloud Sea, but it has became a haven for machine life and other space dwellers. Unchecked technological postsingularity evolution has turned the Sea into a hell sector; only a few enclaves of civilization dot the sector, ruthlessly reapplying postHuman theotech for the purpose of survival.

Polities
Synthophenica
The Directory
Deep Angels (Autowars)
Machine Hives
Howlers
Milskri (Godslayers)

Delve

Desert Sector
Trade Sector
Migration Route
Resource Rich
Imperialised

Delve is a barely habitable sector rich in exotic resources such as quantum black holes and the like required to build stardrives and so on. It is under the occupation of the Silver Empire, who ruthlessly enforce their claim on the sectors resources.

Polities
The Guardian Protectorate
Silver Empire
Valciens

Outlands

Fallow
Paradise Sector
Microstates
Precursor Artefacts
Singularity Artefacts

The Silver Empire maintains the outlands as fallow preserves for native life, both preserving their many primitive cultures and preventing exploitation of potentially dangerous precursor artifacts within.

Polities
Wardens (Silvers)

Upper Leaf

Nebula
Trade Sector
Migration Route
Mega Structures

The begining of the Silver's great Orion Arm trade route, Upper Leaf is a relatively peaceful place filled with large, habitable megastructures, which are home to both several of the Ubiquitous races and the Inner Empire, the heart of the great Tannedeya species polity.

Polities
Inner Empire (Tannedeya)
Valciens
Silver Empire
Mirax Alliance (Bressleris)

Lower Leaf

Hell Sector
Mega structures
Precursor Artefacts
Resource Rich

Lower Leaf is a source of grave concerns for the Tannedeya Empire and Silver. Lying not far from the great trade routes that run almost the length of the arm, Lower Leaf is host to a plethora of vicious life forms, most of which are amazingly dangerous to be around.

Few of them seem to be conventionally sentient (or at least, sane enough to meaningfully interact with other polities) but they make Lower Leaf extremely dangerous and all but impossible to settle. The Silver and Tannedeya worry that one of them may eventually develop into a space fairing threat too their lines of supply to Hadrian, and watch Lower Leaf with alarm.

Due to the difficulty of settlement, various enclaves of Kabandi space pirates exist in the area, raiding the great trade routes on occasions and hiding from Silver Patrols. The sector also contains many outposts of Zepels, who seem unworried by the horrors that live on its various rocky worlds.

Hadrian

Defensible
Migration Route
Singularity Artefacts
Imperialised
Warzone

The last line of defense against the raging hordes to the galactic east, Hadrian is the bullwark of civilization.

Hadrian’s primary civilisation is the massively powerful Outer Empire, which despite its somewhat repressive and authoritarian policies is being supplied by many of the larger civilisations of the Orion arm, especially the Silver, in order to fend off Feral Tozol, Jalk and other marauders.

Polities

Big Trouble
Star Drift Alliance
Outer Empire (Tannedeya)
Jalk Raiders
Feral Tozol
Silver Empire
House of Burning Glass (Vesperis)
Valciens