More Robot Wars

Placeholder name. Probably will be a character SD eventually. Don't be holding your breath.

Timeline

2030s: Moore's Law finally begins to fail as new techniques to further improve electronics become economically unviable.

2050s: New gravitational and structural physical theories point to the possibility of traversable wormholes and gravity control.

2060s: Human augmentation and transgenics become common, early rejuvenation therapies introduced. Countergravity introduced, which while bulky and crude, bring the cost of spacelift down to that of air travel. Start of the second space age and Mars Colonization.

2070s: Invention of the Quantum Transition Engine, enabling fast in-system travel via a macroscale quantum 'teleportation' effect.

2080s: Development of wormhole technologies, resulting in static traversable wormholes and continuous-wormhole drives. Due to the limitations of the latter, ships with CWDs are used to seed static wormholes for sublight passage.

2090s: Interstellar colonization begins, and is the main release for the various social forces remaking the nations and institutions of the Earth. The Great Diaspora.

2060s-2100s: Various local conflicts, ideological shifts and disruptions due to unfettered use of emergent technologies chaotically reshape the Earth.

2100s: Long-term stability issues with first generation wormholes become apparent and second generation wormholes are sent out at sublight speeds.

2120s: First generation wormholes begin to destabilize and are closed to physical traffic, politically isolating maybe more distant colonies. First recorded instance of an iteratively improving human-AI hybrid (a 'posthuman'), outside of Solar-policed space. Machine Scare.

2130s: Development of the 'Tunnel drive'. While still cumbersome it nonetheless allows a certain freedom from the use of wormhole transit. Second Diaspora, primarily by small groups, sometimes little more than family-sized. Neuroquantum Aleph Effect discovered.

2140s: Solar colonies struggle for sovereign recognition, start of long-simmering disputes between Earth and the Jovians (so named because one of the primary wormholes had been placed in Jovian orbit). Charter of the Solar Federation signed, covering all worlds connected to Sol by wormholes at the time.

2170s: Adoption of the early Transgenic Tests. Generally seen as the start of de facto transgenic dominance of the Solar Federation.

2190s: Disputes between the Terrans and Jovians finally spill over into a proclamation of succession by the Jovians, resulting in the System War. The Jovians are eventually defeated and re-absorbed into the Solar Federation.

2200s: Solidification of various mutual defense alliances among outer rim worlds as security bulwarks against the Solar Federation. Mop-up operations in several Jovian-aligned worlds to root out holdouts. Adoption of 'imperial' policy by Solar Federation. Invention of the Zero Time Transit Jump Drive by outer rim scientists.

2210s: Seraphim Organization goes public.

2235: Current Day.

Factions and Entities

Solar Federation

From its capital in Geneva on earth, the Solar Federation rules the entirety of the Sol system and many of the near-Sol colonies. The Federation is hailed by its proponents as the best society earth has ever seen, fighting poverty, oppression and war like no previous political system has and, in the view of some, the last government Humanity will ever need.

Its critics however regard it as a device by which Earth and Mars transhuman elites rule humanity. This is due to the system of exams and tests that control appointment to the higher levels of Sol Fed Bureaucracies, the military and other civil service (and most business) positions. These tests are almost impossible for most “normal” humans to pass, but are much easier for the increasingly common transhumans.

While the civilian government remains democratic, the civil service, military and upper echelons of business are now dominated by transhumans. Humans and transhumans are rated into an ability letter, drawn from the exam system, from F (usually normal humans) to S (the highest grade of transhuman) with S Class being given positions of extreme power and responsibility, this has led to accusations of the development of a new nobility in Sol that bypasses the old democratic system with back-channel dealmaking between the new lords of creation.

Despite this, most people are happier, richer and less likely to be a victim of violence than they were before, and the Sol Fed remains very popular even among its lowest-ranked citizens.

Political

Solar Federation Senate

Military

Solar Federation Fleet

The 'big stick' of the Solar Federation. While they lack the individual expertise and effectiveness of INTACT ships and pilots, the Solar Fleet has a lot of battleships.

INTACT'

The Independent Tactical Armoured Counter Terrorism unit. The Solar Federation's mecha-SS, FBI and Homeland Security all rolled into one.

Corporations

Tenshi Corp

A newcomer to the economic landscape of the Solar Federation, Tenshi corp has gone from an obscure think tank to a techno-industrial juggernaut in a single generation. Supplying cutting-edge equipment to various arms of the SolFed they have won contract after contract and swiftly became a fundamental component of the SolFed's military-industrial complex. This has spawned incessant speculation ranging from the plausible (bribery on a vast scale to various Senate members) to the outlandish (the Seraphim are secretly mind-controlling the Senate and various important military figures with alien technology).

Nivium Aerospace

Lunar-based Nivium Aerospace is a primary SolFed contractor for air and space fighter craft.

Ares Integrated Defense

Mars-based AID was the primary SolFed supplier for ground combat weapons during the System War, though it has lost substantial market share to Tenshi.

Westland-Shanghai

An immense heavy industry company that made its fortune during the colonization era, building everything from universal tractors to terraforming plants to prefabricated buildings.

Bank of Earth

The largest bank in human space, the BoE has market capitalization equivalent to every other top ten bank put together (all of which are themselves huge entities). While normally seen as nothing more than a unbiquitous fixture, rumors have it that the BoE has been covertly engaged in various shady deals on independent worlds.

Organizations

The Futurists

An 'Old Boys' network dedicated to advancing the security and interests of the Solar Federation, by which is meant a strong central government run by transhumans. Primarily made up of veterans of the Solar War, it can be seen as something of a spiritual successor to organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic.

Cypress

An pro-baseline organization that rejects the Solar Federation's philosophy of total dissolution of national borders and transgenic testing, claiming that the Solar Federation is working to homogenize humanity and eliminate cultural diversity to solidify the power hold the transhuman elites possess.

Outer Rim

The closure of the first generation wormholes led to a well-organized period of isolation in the outer colonies. While a few second-generation wormholes had already been established, many were a decade or more from arrival.

Political

Zodiac Union

A multi-ethnic organization that has its roots mostly in the 21st century Euro-American long-range colonization missions, centered around a first-generation wormhole and the subsequent radiation outwards from that. While having a strong transgenic population like the Solar Federation, the Union differs in having a much stronger socialist slant, the policy of subsidizing upgrades dating back to the isolation period. Some outside observers would expect the Federation and the Union to be natural allies, however the latter's tacit support and cooperation with the Jovian faction, including the sheltering of various refugees and former soldiers has led to a state of cold war between the two.

League of Outer Stars

Another major Rim bloc, the League of Outer Stars is a dominantly baseline polity that existed as a loose trading group in the early 22nd century. It was the System War that really caused the development of the League of Outer Stars however, various independent colonists who traded with one side or the other faced punitive raids, unrestricted warfare on commerce and other. This caused several of the stronger independent colonies to band together into the League of Outer Stars, a diverse group committed to the goal of keeping the colonies free of Sol’s interference or control.

In the post war world, the League watches the new Solar Federation with suspicion and continues to build up its military forces, ready for a possible confrontation. Many of these military forces are based around mobile dolls, automated mobile suits operating independent of human guidance, which the League’s Space Armada plans to use in vast numbers to counter earth’s high end transhuman pilots. Relations between the Zodiac Union and the League veer between warm and cold, though the looming behemoth of the Solar Federation focusses the minds of either.

White Rose Kingdom

A political dynasty stretching over several star systems with its capital on the ocean world of Godford. As the name implies, the White Rose is a monarchy, with an elected lower house and has existed for decades as an oligarchical ruler of many millions of colonists. Now equipped with large numbers of second-line mecha and substantial political support from the Solar Federation, the White Rose is a rising contender amongst the multitude of distant colonies at the edges of SolFed space. In truth, the White Rose is a client state of the Federation and is used as a potential second front against the Zodiac Union. The recent assassination of the crown prince by assailents unknown has thrown the Kingdom into a panic however, and witch hunts have begun to root out the regicides.

Outremonde Republic

Outremonde was a dissapointment of a world and a stark demonstration of the limits of remote sensing in the late 21st century. While 'habitable' with a reasonably breathable oxy-nitro atmosphere, Outremonde had a climate far more disagreeable than anticipated. Nonetheless a wormhole was a substantial investment and the European backers laboured to make the most of it. Tailored bacteria was cultured and fired into the oceans and lakes by the kiloton and workers braved the blizzards to construct the fortress-cities that would become the halmark of Outremonde. Enticed by the promise of full employment and generous settlement credits tens of millions braved the interstellar gulfs to settle on Outremonde. Additional wormholes were sent out towards promising nearby worlds for secondary colonization efforts - this time with proper FTL surveying beforehand.

Unavoidably cut off when the direct wormhole to Sol was closed, Outremonde had its own period of 'glorious isolation' cut cruelly short by the unforeseen collapse of part of the orbital soletta network tempering Outremonde's climate. This and later crisises against exhuman raiders solidified the strong central Outremondian government and led to the commissioning of the first warships for the Outremendian Fleet and the formalization of military and political ties with its daughter colonies. Over the past half-century the Republic has watched the developments surrounding the Solar Federation with something approaching alarm, concerned with both the hierarchal transgenics and the militarism.

Military

The Red Dogs

Transgenic mercenaries for hire. Possibly with an all-girl fanservice brigade.

Other Polities

The Seraphim

A pro-trangenic organization shrouded in mystery, the Seraphim were originally part of the Space Independence Alliance around Saturn until their defection from the Jovian cause, bringing vital military plans and codes that ultimately lead to the decisive defeat of their earstwhile allies by the Solar Federation. Today the Seraphim have been accepted by the inhabitants of Sol and now reach through every aspect of the Solar Federation. Their influence is felt from the very tip of the spear, in INTACT field units, to every aspect of the defense industry. Seraphim personnel comprise a larger percentage of the SolFed military every year, and their presence in the defense industry through Tenshi Corp, unknown a generation ago, has ballooned enormously, rendering them by many estimates the single largest defense contractor in known space. Their overt assets range from core worlds, to Sol itself, to hundreds of distant colonies bent on research and discovery in the name of their mysterious rulers.

Neo Jove

Neo Jove are the remnants of the Jovian forces that fled Sol and the rest of the Inner Sphere after the end of the System War. Some settled in Zodiac space while others feel back in to prepared boltholes, preparing for the eventual day of liberation when Jupiter will rise again.

Rifters

'Going beyond the Aquila Rift' has become slang for baselines departing the Solar Federation's power pyramid where many feel disenfranchised by a system based in part on genetic valuation. While the early Federation was quite happy to see the backs of malcontents and nonconformists, in modern times there is the opinion that letting so many groups with real or imagined grudges against the Federation depart has proven to be a manifestly poor idea. The addition of various ex-Jovian forces, up to and including main-line (if obselescent) warships has brought an extra urgency to those voices clamoring to 'deal with the Rifter problem'.

Exhumans

The Exhumans are, like Rifters, primarily made up of individuals or small groups that left the constraints of 'civilized' space. However, unlike Rifters which primarily left to escape the Solar Federation's pyramidal power structure, Exhumans instead sought to augment themselves beyond human limits via both transgenic and cybernetic technologies outside of the Solar Federation's monopoly on the techniques. Espousing any number of personal philosophies ranging from the Will to Power to radical libertarianism to violent revolution to simple greed they are thankfully mostly found in the outer rim.

The Engo

One of the most radical 'pure' transgenic groups out there, Dr. Alexis Engo departed Earth a century ago to perform her work unfettered by conventional morality of the time, creating twelve bloodlines based on different types of animals.

History

The Jovian Junction

At the dawn of the wormhole era, the Jovian Junction was the center of outbound transits. The plethora of lagrange points and free energy in the Io flux tube made the Jovian subsystem a natural starting point for wormhole generation; while the techniques of inflating a wormhole exploited 'phantom' energy and other tricks, they still required substantial amounts of energy. Even with the closure of the first-generation wormholes due to logarithmically decreasing stability and virtual particle production, the Jovian subsystem remained host to over half of Sol's second-generation wormholes. Consequently the Jovian subsystem became a major port of call and shipbuilding center and by the early 22nd century it had eclipsed Mars as the most inhabited part of the system outside of Earth itself. However the political representation never caught up to the economic growth and dissatisfaction was rife.

The presence of the Jovian Junction was what made the System War so massive and so long. While smaller than the Solar Federation forces, the Jovian seperatists had a massive industrial base and a single defensible location leading to rear areas that could supply manpower and resources without fear of interdiction. It was only late-war intelligence coups including the secret defection of the Seraphim that enabled the Federation to break the Jovian stronghold.

Historiography of the System War

The civil war between the Solar Federation and the Jovian seperatists was one of the Great Wars of human history and the only interstellar war to date. It should therefore be no surprise that the System War is the subject of intensive national myth-making in the Solar Federation, where it is hailed as a triumph of unity over parochal local interests and rebellious 'splittists' and 'seperatists'. It is treated as a Just War, with a narrative that paints it as a choice between civilization or anarchy.

Of course the Jovians have their own view of it, that being the Solar Federation retained too much power on Earth and was irresponsive to the concerns of the colonies. The war was one against the increasingly tyrannical central government to liberate the colonies. For many of the Jovians who still follow the cause, the original motivations have become irrelevant next to that of revenge.

For their parts, the League of Outer Stars and the Zodiac Union have a generally negative view; the League especially, as it was ostensibly neutral to both sides and as a result suffered attacks from both. This has solidified the anti-Federation views in the League. The Union was sympathetic to the Jovian desire for more indepence or else a greater voice and consequently suffered both militarily during the war and politically afterwards and regularly turns up as a rhetorical target for Federation politicians.

Technologies

FTL Technology

Static Wormholes

The primary method of interstellar travel in the 23rd century is via static wormholes. These allow conventional sublight ships to cross the gulf between stars in speed and ease. While the original wormholes were spread by sending out terminus onboard a continuous-wormhole FTL ship, this had unexpected long-term stability issues and within thirty years, all had been shut down and their energy bled off to avoid a catastrophic failure event. Today, wormhole termini are moved outward at zero-gauge size onboard compact antimatter-powered ships, to be inflated to traversable size upon arrival - the energy costs of moving an inflated wormhole (along with the relativistic implications on the travellers) would be prohibitive.

Continuous-Wormhole Drive

The oldest and most common method of 'free' interstellar travel is via continuous-wormhole drives, or CWDs. They generate a zero-gauge wormhole between two points and push a 'bubble' of normal space time along it. While (fairly) flexible, they require substantial exotic-matter machinery and power input, increasing geometrically for linear increases in speed. While the state of the art has improved, the early termini-carriers 2070s could barely make 20 c with a payload mass fraction comparable to early chemical rockets. As a result, ships fitted with CWDs are fitted with sleep tubes for the months that they may spend in interstellar transit.

Wake Tunnel Drive

An outgrowth of CWD technologies, 'tunnel drives' essentially seperate the wormhole generator and the payload into two (or more) seperate ships. The Boreships are made up complerely of enhanced CWDs that can maintain a longer-lasting tunnel, through which normal sublight ships can follow, rather like ships following in an icebreaker's wake. Privately owned Boreships have proliferated and have driven a rennaissance in private exploration and colonization and of course various governments have large fleets for both civilian and military use. The massive guide arrays on Boreships make them unmistakable.

ZTT Jump Drive

Zero Time Transit drives are recent innovations in wormhole technology, completely reworking various fundamental aspects of CWD operation. As the name implies, they use zero-time wormholes for (functionally almost) instant interstellar jumps, the ship and its transit metric rotating between two astronomically distant positions. The weakness is that jump range is limited to approximately 8-10 light years and as a consequence ZTT-equipped ships must 'dogleg' to cover large distances, sometimes substantially. ZTT-equipped ships are recognizable by the large toruses of the drive guide arrays. Zodiac scientists pioneered ZTT technology and significant effort was undertaken to keep the existence and capabilities of these drives from the Inner Sphere. While SolFed has since begun its own experiments, its internal lines of communication and stategic situation have kept ZTT drives something of a technical curiosity.

Technical and Military notes

Solar Federation

The Solar Federation operates a two-tier military, broken down between the Solar Federation Fleet/Army and INTACT. The former operates an immense fleet of mass produced craft ranging from one-man fighters and mecha to battleships. Such are the resources of the Solar Federation that even these are comparable to some of the better strike craft produced in the Outer Rim and, of course, the Solar Federation's fleet of warships outnumbers any possible competitor tenfold. Furthermore, most pilots are ranked A-class (or sometimes talented B-class), meaning they have an intrinsic edge against baseline humans in reaction time. During wartime, SolFleet and the Solar Army can be expected to shoulder the brunt of the fighting, taking and holding both space and ground.

By contrast, INTACT is the small, elite component of the two-tier system. Equipped with an array of high-end equipment they are the first-in force and consequently see much higher operational tempo during peacetime against the many small, dispersed enemies of the Federation. All pilots are a minimum of A-class, with S-class preferred. Almost all are Manifested Alephs as well, and those that are not universally make up for this deficiency with superlative skills and natural talent. During wartime or other major operations, INTACT can be expected to act as a pathfinder and commando role; while powerful and skilled their small numbers makes them brittle to the attrition that would barely slow down a SolFleet Task Division.

Ground Troops

Most Solfed infantry wear one or another kind of powered battlesuit. This ranges from articulated plate and muscles for standard line infantry to massive Fafnir and Fenris battlesuits for elite units such as Espatiers, Marines, and assault troops. These suits are almost small mobile suits in their own rights, and are armed with heavy cannon and missile launchers.

Ground Vehicles

The System War was three and a half years of hard fighting in both space and on planets and armor was in the thick of it. Cheaper and less complex than mobile suits, tanks of all make and classification carried the ground war forward across dozens of worlds, brother pitter against brother. By the official surrender more than fifty thousand tanks and many times that other AFVs had been built, vastly more than any peacetime military needed. Thus contemporary Solar Army ground vehicles are essentially the same as the ones used a generation ago, maintained with the mountains of spare parts available as of the peace. Many were even originally built by Jovian seperatists.

Aircraft

As a polity spread across many inhabited worlds, the Solar Federation has a self-evident need for a large aerospace force for both offense and defense. While aircraft have been replaced in some roles by flight-capable mobile suits, high-speed attack and atmospheric intercept remain the sole domain of aerodynamic fighter jetcraft. The Solar Fleet employs several large carriers dedicated to transatmospheric fighter operations for 'door-clearing' operations and to support landing operations, but most aircraft are surfaced-based and operated by local PDFs, the 'Air Guard'. In the aftermath of the System War there was also an unspoken policy to limit both the number and quality of weapons in Air Guards to levels merely sufficient to deter raiders and thus, by extention, those available to any would-be rebels. The concern has faded but the policy has not, which has led to various charges of neglect on the part of SolFed high command. It for this reason that there often a strong rivalry between Solar Fleet mecha pilots and Air Guard fighter jocks. It doesn't help that the latter are also washouts who couldn't achieve a mobile suit pilot position.

Mobile Suits

The darlings of the Solar Federation's military, mobile suits not only fill the role of space attackers but aviation gunships and high-speed ground armor. Development and acquisitions recieve a lion's share of the total budget, matched only by the fleet's warships. In general, SolFed mobile suits are the standard against which others are measured. The end of the System War meant that the Solar Fleet inherited huge numbers of ex-Jovian models to bolster its forces and it has only been in the past decade that the Federation has undergone a huge block replacement program to finally clear the war-era designs out of its inventories. Those in the best condition were sold to friendly governments or corporations, while the others were dissasembled for spares and or scrapped.

Warships

As a transtellar power, the Federation's ability to project power is dependent upon its warships. Thus the fleet is taken very seriously and progressive updates are common, along with senate-mandated force minimums. Not even the Jovians during the System War could match the Solar Fleet in sheer warship tonnage. All mid to large sized warships have integral mobile suit handling facilities, with older pre-war era ships being decommissioned or sold to friendly powers for local defense. Warships originally designed for INTACT service (such as the London class) are also capable of reasonably rapid atmospheric landings and surface-effect hover travel, though they are not rated for 'hot' landings like proper assault ships.

League of Outer Stars

The League has neither the seemingly bottomless resources nor the elite transhuman pilots of the Solar Federation and no ability to meaningfully make up the gap via technological means. The only solution that seemed viable was the adoption of an attritionary strategy for the space theatre and an unforgiving production rationalizing process to support this. Huge swarms of remotely-managed robotic drones would swamp the enemy in so many mobile units that any individual superiority would be negated. Consequently most League warships are little more than cavernous hangas for Raptors and similar mass-produced drone attack craft. While this has worked against various local threats, the march of technology in the Solar Federation and unreported skimishes against INTACT mobile units have proven worrying for the League.

Ground Troops

Cyborgs!

Ground Vehicles

Aircraft

Mobile Suits

Warships

Zodiac Union

Like the League, the Zodiac Union has an economy that pales next to that of the Solar Federation. However they do have the advantage of a substantial transhuman population and, after the System War, the bolstering of their technical bureaus with Jovian talent and prototypes. These allowed them to close the technical gap between the Rim and the Inner Sphere and today the Union can boast some of the most sophisticated and powerful designs outside of the Solar Federation. In fact, a typical Zodiac Alpha-type manned frame will exceed an INTACT frame in speed and firepower, by the expedient of loading it down with booster backpacks filled with thrusters, added missiles, oversized two-handed beam cannon and other methods to augment the individual effectiveness of each frame; Zodiac mecha almost always give the impression of being weighed down with excess gear. These 'command' types will normally be escorted by Beta and Gamma type unmanned frames. The Union has also been aggressive in developing mobile armors, pushing the limits of aeronautics. Despite all this though, the Union has no Alephs or related technology and like the League, compensates with AI subprocessors and the like.

Ground Troops

Ground Vehicles

Aircraft

Mobile Suits

Like the League of Outer Stars, the Zodiac Union operates a large fleet of lightweight automated mobile suits ('mobile dolls') cheaply mass-produced on less-advanced colonies, however unlike the League, the Union also operates manned mobile suits. These makes heavy use of external equipment, colloquially known as 'Command Armor' by Federation pilots. These turn what would otherwise be fairly mediocre frames into fast and lethal attackers, armed with a plethora of weapons and flying on overpowered thrusters. (Un)fortunately, they are almost always designed for non-atmospheric work and consequently Zodiac mecha are often at a disadvantage in atmosphere once they shed their augmentation units. On the field, the manned command frames operate as squad leaders to the less powerful unmanned craft; a typical squadron would be four command frames and sixteen unmanned, four per command frame.

Warships

Union warships are built around tho concepts; massive missile barrage systems and spacious mecha hangar facilities. These synergize for the Union's prefered tactics of long-range missile bombardment 'escorted' by mobile suits, forcing the defenders to counter one or the other and (hopefully) spread fire unwisely. Powerful electronics hunt out enemy ships, ensuring that Zodiac warships are not surprised by a cunning foe and also guide missiles unneringly towards their target at long range. On top of this, Zodiac ships are fitted with external pallet racks, giving them the ability to fit various mission modules. This comes at a price however, and Zodiac warships forgo many of the amenities of SolFed ships, such as mobile suit catapults.

White Rose Kingdom

As a polity friendly to the Solar Federation, the White Rose has had little need to invest in a substantial military-industrial complex, instead buying and/or license-building older SolFed models to supplement home-brewed designs mostly intended for planetary defense. A few elite units of impeccable political reliability have also been outfitted with modern SolFed weapons. Recent political turmoil has thrown the Kingdom into a state of panic though, and signs point towards a military buildup in the near future.

Ground Troops

White Rose ground troops are, at least by the standards of the veterans of the System War, lightly equipped with locally-produced arms. While heavy weapons such as smart anti-armor missiles and assault power suits do exist they are normally retained mostly for training purposes; until recently the White Rose saw itself as unthreatened by outside military force.

Ground Vehicles

The Kingdom maintains a stable of armored fighting vehicles, mostly of SolFed make. Many are capable of water travel, a necessity on Godford, and the White Rose also operates a large number of small coastal gunboats in the 50-1000 ton range, the larger of which are often built to support a small complement of naval infantry. In one of the few cases of reversed outsourcing, the White Rose exports over half of the gunboats it builds to SolFed which ships them offworld to its own colonies.

Aircraft

Like vehicles, the majority of the combat aircraft the White Rose operates are from SolFed manufacturers, though overall the White Rose attaches greater value to planetary-based interceptors than its patron. Fixed-wing and aviation transport are quite common, allowing for rapid inter-island mobility. Harwood & Singh is one of the major domestic producers of vertol transports, having entered the market during the System War. While definately inferior to SolFed designs and accused of being derivative, they have succeeded in capturing a solid market share and compete ruthlessly on price.

Mobile Suits

The Kingdom only maintained a token force of old mobile suits until the chaos of the System War, whereapon they were supplied large quantities of prewar Hylas mobile suits by the Solar Federation. Rapidly outclassed by the remoseless R&D of the war, they nonetheless posed enough of a threat to dissuade the Jovian seperatists from raiding White Rose worlds. They soldiered on for another two decades, eventually replaced by late-war Otrera mobile suits that now serve as the backbone of the White Rose's mobile suit force, with the least worn refitted for support roles.

Warships

The White Rose Starfleet's warships are entirely foreign-made, consisting mostly of Kilimanjaro and 'Astute battleships and escorts of equivalent generation. Ironically enough, the White Rose is much more top-heavy than the Solar Fleet as until relatively recently it only had a small number of systems all connected by wormholes to cover, thus the need for many small to midsized craft was limited. The White Rose Starfleet also operates a large number of Vespuci supply ships refitted to carrier motherships for its mobile suits. The White Rose also operates a small fleet of space denial submersibles, their special GTO laser cannons one of the few triumphs of domestic technology. The first of these were hurridly put into service during the System War and played a major role in keeping Jovian raiders out of planetary orbit.

Outremonde Republic

Outremonde was isolated from much of the military developments in the solar system and nearby until relatively late in its history and consequently developed some of its own theories on warfare. Having kept a political distance from the Solar Federation they began to invest in a more substantial military to provide a credible deterrent in case the Federation chose to use its expanding military in a hostile fashion. When the System War splintered the Federation, Outremonde closed its borders and turned back all non-refugee ships exiting wormholes passing through its territory. While this was diplomatically unpopular, it saved Outremonde from any significant retaliatory raids like the ones that disrupted League and Union industry.

Outremonde does not rely on mobile suits and fighters nearly as heavily as other major powers, instead deploying its large (for a nation that's not the Solar Federation anyhow) fleet of warships. Dismissed as obselete by Solar Federation forces, in the aftermath of the Odessa Incident Outremonde has been quietly upgrading its warships to better deal with the Solar Federation's mobile suits.

Ground Troops

Ground Vehicles

Aircraft

Mobile Suits

Warships

Warships are the premier striking arm of the Outremonde Republic and consequently recieve the greatest prestige and resources. The impressive Outremonde space fleet was built in the old EU orbital docks, a collection of shipyards almost unique outside of Sol. Several generations of warships have came out of the Outremonde spaceyards, the oldest having long since been relegated to local patrol or disarmed for civilian cargo hauling. More recent models have all undergone multiple refits to keep them current. Outremonde maintains no purpose-built space carriers though

Seraphim

Blurring the line between an NGO, a corporation and a state, the Seraphim operate their own private military organization to protect their many small outposts against the various threats and dangers of the outer rim.

Ground Troops

Generally acting more as security guards than soldiers, Seraphim troopers are typically lightly equipped and in a defensive posture. They are not expected to take the offensive.

Ground Vehicles

Seraphim ground vehicles are mostly civilian frontier grade, with a scattering of lightweight military-rated jeeps and trucks for patrol around those installations deemed high priority. Generally however, any real need for ground combat vehicles will be filled by mecha, of which the Seraphim build a number of sophisticated models of.

Aircraft

Military aircraft are rare in Seraphim service, mostly models purchased from the Solar Federation. V/STOL transport craft are quite common though, as many Seraphim outposts are on scarcely surveyed worlds with few or no roads.

Mobile Suits

As the Seraphim have designed and built many new mobile suit models for the Federation, it is no surprise that they have no shortage in their own service. Sleek and advanced, all are equipped with an Aleph Matrix control system and sophisticated modern energy weapons. Most also carry Aleph-controlled bits.

Warships

The Seraphim do not operate any warships, though they have a fairly large fleet of long-range exploration and cargo craft, a handful of which have been fitted with some armament. Mostly though in the case of hostility, Seraphim ships would launch mobile suits to defend the ship until it could escape.

Your Character

You have 70 points to design your character. Any excess points can be saved for increase later.

Level 1 - 1 CP - Hobbyist
Level 2 - 3 CP - Amateur
Level 3 - 6 CP - Professional
Level 4 - 10 CP - Skilled Professional
Level 5 - 15 CP - Experienced Professional
Level 6 - 21 CP - Expert
Level 7 - 28 CP - Master
Level 8 - 36 CP - Ancient Master
Level 9 - 45 CP - Superlative
Level 10 - 55 CP - Unmatched

In short, to improve a stat costs (current level + 1)

Stats

These are the defining 'hard' characteristics of your character.

Pilot

Your character's Pilot rating is an overall measure of how well he or she pilots a mobile suit, covering the breadth of skills as opposed to the specific increases some other stats may provide. It also covers other pilotable things such as shuttles or spaceships as determined by the GM. Low Pilot does not in itself prevent access to a powerful suit, but even tremendous Newtype prowess and bleeding edge technology cannot replace basic proficiency in piloting skills.

Gunnery

You could be the hottest shot to ever shoot hotly, but if you can't put a bullet within a hundred meters of that battleship, you're no good outside the exibition grounds. Because Pilot is the godstat, it's broken in two.

Aleph

Alephs (or colloquially, Newtypes) are, depending on whom you ask, the next stage in human evolution, an ability gained due to the invaders, their faith in God, or something that has been with us all along. Your character's Aleph rating governs her access to "magical" abilities.

Physical

This is the raw physical prowess of your character while she is on her own two feet, governing everything from proficiency with firearms, strength, agility, endurance, athleticism, and skill and/or talent in hand to hand combat. A character with a high rating in this category can make an excellent special forces combatant without other additions. However, it does not reflect her skill with the guns or melee weapons while inside her mecha - unless it has a motion capture system.

Smarts

Your innate intelligence, as well as your ability to notice things and act on your feet. It can be treasted a surrogate skill for whenever you're in a situation where instant actions are required (such as rolling initiative). It is one of the Tactical skills, and if Smarts is the highest your tactics and strategies will rely heavily on rapid improvisation and (re)actively adapting to circumstances as they come.

Education

How well you paid attention during school; a measure of your book learning. It can be treated as a surrogate stat for whenever you'd be using complex systems, such as electronics. It is one of the Tactical stats, and if Education is the highest your tactics and strategies rely on skill, knowledge and extensive analysis.

Charisma

Charisma measures the likeability of your character in several ways. Although few characters are anything but superior in physical attractiveness, those with high Charisma do tend to be the coolest or hottest, and they do tend to sell more figurines. More importantly though, charisma attracts followers, suitable romantic partners, and helps keep the faction together. Charisma is also the ability that governs your ability to get new or replace old/destroyed humanoid frames. Charisma is the third of the Tactical stats, and if Charisma is the highest your tactics and strategies rely on the fact that you're such an inspiring leader and figure that those under you simply win though guts and determination.

Specialties

You may also buy Specialties, which are substats giving you additional strengths in one field. Each specialty is bought as per regular stats cost and adds during the appropriate situation. For example, if a character has Pilot 4 and Melee Speciality (Pilot) 2, during mecha melee battleships he has effectively Pilot 6.

In especially appropriate situations, Specialties may add even more points to the stat.

Example for Physical: Sniper (superior gunmanship), Duelist (swordsmanship), Big Guy (brawling, clobbering, not-dying), Ballet (looking pretty), etc.

There are also a number of particularly important or common stats that are (almost) always bought as specialties. They are detailed below

Command

Command measures your character's trained proficiency at tactics, strategy, and his or her ability to make awesome plans and have them miraculously flow like water – most of the time. While low Command characters aren't necessarily stupid, high Command characters do tend to be the conspicuously smart or clever ones. Note that Command ability doesn't necessarily have anything to do with rank and is entirely optional - it is normally paired with Rank (see below).

Command is normally bought for specific (if broad) circumstances, such as Aerospace Operations, Warship Command, Mecha Squadrons, Infantry Combat, etc. General Command can be bought and applies to all situations where Command would be used, but it is treated as being one-half of its stated rating (rounded down, you munchkins), and is generally used to represent a basic amount of training that military officers (or resistance leaders) get before they specialize in any one field.

Conspiracy

While Charisma is a measure of how well you deal with people, Conspiracy is a measure of how well connected you are to the political machinations that underpin the story. In essence, it is how much of the ‘big picture’ the character sees. Conspiracy is an effective way of acquiring information, supplies, allies and even new machines, but remember that depending on who you're aligned with, there may be no loyalty, only self-interest in this.

Conspiracy is normally bought for specific groups ('Conspiracies), ranging from the Solar Federation Senate to INTACT to The Futurists and similar 'true' conspiracies. Likewise, it can be bought in the 'unlimited' format, for those who truly have their fingers in every pie and is treated as having 1/2 of its stated rating, rounded down.

Finally, Conspiracy can be used more generally for investigation, streetwise, simple cover-ups and other general low-level skullduggery.

Tuneup

Tuneup represents your ability to squeeze just that extra bit of effectiveness out of whatever you're flying. Every level of Tuneup gives you one additional Mecha Build Point, to a max of the associated primary stat. Note that in all cases these require a certain level of 'maintenance', be it the only person who repairs (or touches!) your machine to having to spend hours every day flying it to keeping good relations with your secret patron.

Mechanic is Smarts-based, and represents tinkering with your own (or someone else's!) robot to make it work better. It most commonly increases melee, firepower or speed.

Engineer is Education-based, and represents applying advanced principles and techniques along with a dose of fancy R&D equipment to your machine. It most commonly increaseses firepower, defense or special.

Crack Pilot is Pilot-based, and represents simply getting every possible sliver of red-lined performance out of a machine. It most commonly increases melee, speed or defense.

Special Connections is Conspiracy-based, and represents someone out there with special interest in you providing you with some nifty toys. It almost always increases special, with firepower and defense being distantly behind.

Extras

These are things that are particularly limited in application or do not necessarily apply to character stats. It can cover things like having a family heirloom of exceptional power, a lot of money in portable format, mutant powers like healing factor, etc. Request one and the GM will provide a cost and effect.

Rank

Rank represents your position in the hierarchy of the organization you're a part of. Rank is always bought in reference to a specific organization, such as INTACT, the Combined ZOCU Militias, the USMC, etc. Depending on the campaign, one or more levels of it may be automatically granted. Rank, essentially, controls how many NPCs you have under your control.

While the specifics may vary depending on the exact organization one is a member of, these are the typical ranks and bonuses. Also note that Rank is fairly interpretive, so it's entirely possible (if fairly implausible) to have a General who is 'Low Ranked', someone who for whatever reason flies alone.

Low Ranked
Cost: 0
This normally represents enlisted or otherwise non-commissioned characters, but also applies equally well to commissioned pilots who have no wingmen (or are wingmen themselves), or simply are part of an all-elite group. Low Ranked is the default.

Mid Ranked
Cost: 5
At this level you either have a single named NPC in a comparable suit who can solidly cover your back and can be trusted to not steal your limelight, or else a three-man element (wingman + additional pair) with inferior skills and equipment - but don't mock the power of numbers.

High Ranked
Cost: 12
This is generally the level of experience pilots, who will either have a three-man element as above who are of broadly PC grade ability, an entire squadron of inferior NPCs, or else a cruiser (but no NPC pilots - the ship is the NPC 'pilot'). Note that the character themself doesn't have to be the one commanding the warship, just have functional authority or decision-making capability with it - we're in an anime, after all.

Command Ranked
Cost: 25
You're the Big Cheese. You've got a squadron of reasonably skilled NPCs at your beck and call, or two squadrons of inferior NPCs and a cruiser to carry them around in, or else a battleship with escorts. At this level it would not be unreasonable to have another PC with High Ranked as the Wing CO, if the Battleship option is taken. In really weird cases it could even take the form of a quirky miniboss squad flying midseason uglies, fully the match of any PC with their own names, unique and powerful mobile suits and special attacks. Oh, and character shields.

Traits

Traits are particularly exagerated aspects of your character. All Traits are free, and while multiple can be taken, they should make sense.

Veteran
While most protagonists tend to be relatively new at this whole ‘heroing’ thing (though not, let it be known, does this mean it is solely the domain of the young – see James Links) there are some who have had their time in the spotlight in the previous anime. These characters are better pilots, generally higher ranked and simply more skilled, having had an entire season or more of combat under their belt (or the backstory equivalent, if you’re Roy Fokker). They get +1 to Piloting and +1 Gunnery or Command (specific). Unfortunately, all Veterans suffer a -2 penalty to their effective Aleph Potential.

Hot-Blooded!
God certainly must protect fools and lovers, because you're a fool that loves a good challenge. Your entire life is a litany of guts, determination and sheerest foolhardiness. For any one turn you can channel your hot-bloodedness to survive any (reasonable) amount of enemy fire. However, you can be psychologically vulnerable and be easy prey for enemy deception and tricks. You're also unable to understand that your subordinates might not be able to keep up with you or that your commanding officer has a plan more subtle than 'Charge and win!'.

No Such Thing As Overkill
You love big guns, though you'll also gleefully accept lots of guns. In any mecha with a firepower rating or 5 or more, for one turn you can do an 'Alpha Strike' which significantly boosts firepower at the expense of speed - you're too busy shooting to move! Unfortunately, you ignore melee weapons as useless and always act at -1 melee.

Blademaster
The way of the (beam) sword is the one you follow, and you have become particularly skilled in deflecting enemy melee attacks by doing a continuous parry and dodge. This gives you the ability to increase your defense in melee by sacrificing your opportunity to attack. You will either have a specially modified machine or simply ignore range weapons if possible, giving you a -1 to effective Firepower. Additionally, if properly equipped with energy melee weapons or similar, you can even potentially defend against ranged attacks with your melee power.

Made Of Iron
Your character shields are so strong they extend to your mecha, like some sort of slasher film bad guy. And like them, whatever you're flying just seems to soak impossible hits as it cra-a-a-a-awls across the screen. Maybe you know how to angle your torso unit just right so the shots deflect. No matter how you do it, anything you're flying acts at +1 armor and -1 speed the moment you get behind the controls.

Advantages

Type Master
Cost: 3
You’ve intensive trained, having never been defeated in 2000 simulated engagements. Unfortunately your winning streak comes to an end when you encounter a Gundam. But just wait until you face off against a force of Mobile Dolls . . . You are particularly skilled against a particular type of unit or pilot, such as Mobile Dolls, Super Robots, Mobile Armors, Gundams, Newtypes, etc. You can expect to have the equivalent of at least one rank increase in your piloting skill if facing off against said, due to your almost instinctive understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Note that ‘Conventional Mecha’ is not a valid choice. This stacks with both Pilot and any pilot specialty, making it particularly useful.

License Holder
Cost: 4
For whatever reason, you’ve been issued a ‘License.’ This effectively grants you autonomy from the command structure; you still get all the perks of your rank, but you can also chose to hare off on your own wild misadventures. While in theory a license holder answers to no-one but those who issued it, in practice excessive abuses will result in consequences. Having a License generally comes with being a fairly important conspirator; nobody gives one of these to a wet-behind-the-ears novice.

Cybernewtype
Cost: 4
You’re a government experiment in pilot uniform. You got the benefits of being able to control funnels, dodge incoming blasts you shouldn’t really be dodging, but you also got the downside of ranging from ~moe pill~ addition, being eccentric to outright batshit crazy and also technically being government property. You automatically get the Aleph Skills Newtype Flash and High Level Control at no Aleph point cost and may exceed whatever usual Aleph restrictions may otherwise apply.

Fan Favourite
Cost: 6
You are The Patrick. You might not be omnicompetent and flying the top-end craft like some, but your popularity ensures that you’ll survive all but the most ridiculous situations (or, of course, deliberate self-sacrifice). Note that generally this advantage won’t apply if you’re already just that awesome; Yazan Gable never needed to be a Fan Favourite to survive and kick ass even when surrounded by Newtypes.

Disadvantages

Obsession
Bonus: 3
Perhaps you're a (very) persistent womanizer (no matter your gender), mechaphile or have some other sort of very noticeable personal trait. Essentially have acquired an (un)healthy interest in someone or something else to the level that you have little self-control when faced with it. This goes far beyond schoolgirl yuri or a wandering eye; at the extremes it can reach the level of creepy stalker crush.

Code of Honor
Bonus: 5
You abide by a code of honor consisting either of one huge schtick (never kill anyone – just disable their suits) or a general mode of behaviour, such as being polite at all times, not taking advantage of people when they're down and so on.

Intolerant
Bonus: 3
You hate some group. Maybe baselines killed your father, or your little sister was captured by pirates. You never associate with them, abuse them if they're prisoners, and always go after them in combat with extra berserk.

Adventurous
Bonus: 3
Whenever in a situation where direct instruction from higher command or even when direct instruction is somewhat interpretable, your instinct is to go ahead and drag along a partner along if you have one! This will put you in a lot of dangerous situations, though you will also have a useful streak of fearlessness.

Damaged Goods
Bonus: 3
At some point in your past, you encountered something terribly traumatic that set your angst temporarily at 11. You may pick a circumstance, though if the GM doesn't think it'll affect things enough, he may pick one for you or expand on it. Often, people with this disad are very bright and cheerful but may have constant nightmares, try to keep themselves, and suffer debilitating flashbacks, seizures, or freezeups during battle.

Type Failure
Bonus: 3
Your training had gaps, perhaps due to a rushed schedule or simple lack of experience. There’s one type of enemy unit or pilot that you simply cannot handle. You are particularly unskilled against a particular type of unit, such as Mobile Dolls, Super Robots, Mobile Armors, Gundams, etc. You can expect to have the equivalent of at least one rank decrease in your piloting skill if facing off against said, due to your limited skillset, and it must be something that you can plausibly be pitted against.

Berserker
Bonus: 4
You go crazy in battle, forget to cover your friends and kill more shit then you need to. Even when you’re not in a berserker rage, you’re not likely to be terribly subtle. You may have a hair-trigger temper, or you just might have some ‘buttons’ that get pressed often.

Rival
Bonus: Special
In the past you’ve cultivated a rivalry with another skilled pilot. They will always seem to end up getting in your way, and even when your actual rival isn't around, the fame that you've no doubt accumulated means that enemy opposition will be stronger than normal.
Rival is worth 5 points, and every other PC on the same ship gets +3 points. Having a whole ship of beRivalled PCs is a great way to farm points but pretty much means that you'll be singlehandedly be facing down multiple Kira Yamato clones every single session. Note that to a certain extent, INTACT members already have this effect when they are operating publically, as they are widely famed and reviled as the elites of the Solar Federation.

Races

Yes, you're seeing this right. There is no point cost for races, even though S-types are vastly superior to grounders. The Solar Federation is an intrinsically inequal system. Of course, it's expected that an S-type will save the world twice before dinner, whereas a Grounder doing the same is a true hero.

Grounders (Baselines)

Most of the human population of known space inhabit planets and have minimal if any genetic alteration. Classed as E-Types in the Solar Federation, these baseline humans are generally known as Grounder. They get no modifiers

Low Transhumans

Earlier or less drastic enhancements to humans resulted in people that were only mildly changed from their parents. In the Solar Federation these are typically ranked as C or D type and get a +1 bonus to Physical and Smarts.

High Transhumans

The cautious early steps in human augmenation soon gave way to more drastic and significant upgrades to the human condition. At this point inherent biological immortality (or at least exceptionally long lifespans) became the norm. In the Solar Federation these are ranked A or B types and gets a +2 bonus to Physical, +1 to Smarts and +1 to Charisma, with a minimum of 4 in Smarts, Physical and Charisma. They also have a maximum of Aleph 6.

Superior Transhumans

The pinnacle of the Solar Federation's power pyramid, Superior or S-Type transhumans are better than humans in almost all measurable ways. Living in the lap of power has given them a nearly universal sense of arrogance and confidence, one well-warranted by their immense personnel abilities. They also automatically get +1 Conspiracy for whatever Solar Federation organization they are in, thanks to preferential politics and recruitment. The following Races are all considered S-Class.

Outlier Superior

Many different projects, bloodlines, and retroviruses are at work in the human population. Just as humans may gain superlative abilities through chance of birth, effort, or cybernetics, S-class transhumans represent the leading edge of the curve. They enjoy a +3 bonus to Physical and a +1 to Smarts, Charisma, Education and Aleph, with a minimum of 4 in Smarts, Charisma and Education and 5 in Physical. they also have as one free +1 to assign to Smarts, Charisma or Education.

Seraph

Project Seraphim's goal is the mass production of S-class transhumans through human and alien technologies. Their successes display a +2 bonus to Physical and Aleph, and a +1 bonus to Education, Smarts and Charisma, with a minimum of 4 in Smarts, Charisma and Education and 5 in Physical.

Rim Transhumans

Outside of the pseudo-standardization of the Solar Federation, many colonists have taken their own paths towards perfection.

Spacers

Spacers have lived out in space on orbiting platforms, asteroid cities and the like for generations, generally the descendants of colonists who arrived in systems with no viable planets. All Spacers get +1 Tuneup (Mechanic) and +1 Zero-Gravity, but suffer -1 Physical. The Solar Federation generally labels these O-types, though few call themselves citizens of the Federation.

Alpha

A generalized blend of transgenic traits, broadly comparable to the B ranked transhumanis of the Solar Federation. Alphas have +1 to Physical, Smarts and Charisma, with a minum of 4 in those stats.

Ishtar

The Ishtar upgrade was intended to result in an individual with exceptional warms and personality and is found throughout the Zodiac Union. They get +2 Charisma, +1 Smarts and +1 Physical, and must have a minimum of 5 in Charisma.

Omoikane

One of the more common upgrades in the Zodiac Union, Omoikanes give +2 Education, +1 Smarts and +1 Charisma. Omoikanes must have a minimum of 5 in Education.

Full-Body Cyborg

Those not born with the abilities of an S-class are not incapable of gaining something similar. A dangerous and expensive surgical procedure may remove a person's brainstem, then install it in some form of mechanical body. The most experimental and powerful of these rival or even surpass the superlative abilities of an S-class. Full-Body Cyborgs have +2 bonus to Physical, +3 bonus to Physical: Big Guy and +1 to Education: Computer Operation. They get +1 Conspiracy for whatever League organization they are in.

Careers

Careers represent what your character does for a living. Like Races, they provide bonuses and penalties to stats and specialties; again like Races these modify the final value, not the inherent value (eg, what you calculate cost to buy with). Some Careers might also have minimum stats - nobody's going to make it through special forces training with a physical of 1.

Solar Fleet Pilot

The many, the proud. All SolFleet Pilot PCs are assumed to have already distinguished themselves in some way. They get +1 Pilot, +1 Gunnery and Mid Rank, and all but the most exceptional cases will be at least Low Transhumans.

Solar Fleet Officer

The brains of the most powerful war machine humanity has ever seen, commanding warships against the SolFed's foes. To carry out their task they have +1 Naval Command, +1 Education, +1 Solar Fleet Conspiracy and High Rank.

INTACT Lictors

Lictors are the public face of INTACT, front-line warriors and troubleshooters. Due to stringent testing and requirements, most Lictors are S-type transhumans, with a few A-types and some truly skilled 'lessers'. There are actually many different training paths for Lictors, but the kind you'll be playing get a +2 Pilot, +1 Gunnery, +1 Charisma and +1 INTACT Conspiracy.

INTACT Censor

Those few humans who have been born with exceptional Aleph powers are often enrolled in INTACT to serve as Censors. These mentalists recieve special training to focus their neuroquantum powers. As such, they recieve +1 Education, +5 Aleph Points and +2 INTACT Conspiracy, and require a minimum of Aleph 5.

INTACT Legate

The Legates are the commanders and leaders of INTACT, typically having authority over one or more warships, bases or ground operations group. They recieve +1 Unlimited Command, +1 Education, +2 INTACT Conspiracy and High Rank

League Combatsystem Operator

The League has few pilots, instead having 'operators' acting as telepresent squad leaders. These men and women are rigorously trained to capably time-share their attention between various viewpoints and react to shifting engagements from a rear-area perspective. Combatsystem Operators recieve +1 Engineer, +1 Education and Mid Rank.

League Battlemanagement Director

With the League's predisposition towards automated weapons, their leaders must be just at home managing complex info-combat systems as they are at managing people. Battlemanagement Directors recieve +2 AI Command (specific field), +2 League Military Conspiracy and High Rank.

Union Mechanized Vanguard

Union command frames are typically piloted by Alphas, leading squads of robotic soldiers into combat. To this end they have +1 Pilot, +1 Gunnery, +1 Education and Mid Rank.

Characters

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