TOPIC: R5 - Coriolis: the Third Horizon

Setting up a discussion thread for the game now we are full. Players are listed below. Will add some fluff and details when I get chance.

Sarge
Sant
Jim
Tony
Marc

Are there any weeks people are definitely not going to be around for whatever reason?

Coriolis Peeps. Tonight will be my last night at the club till we start as away with work so if you want to ask me any questions grab me tonight (hopefully not literally).

A Brief History of the Third Horizon

About 500 years ago, humans fled their ancestral home of Al-Ardha (Earth). Their planet
had become overcrowded, toxic and plagued by war. The first ships to leave were massive
generation ships that would take hundreds of years to reach their destinations. The crews
of these ships would live and die in transit, their progeny taking their place at the helm.

Two such ships - the Nadir and the Zenith - were pointed at a system of stars, considered
likely to have habitable worlds. At some point in the journey, the Nadir became lost. Only the
Zenith made it to the new system of stars but they found it already populated - by humans.

In the years while the Zenith was travelling through space, humanity had discovered the
Portals, remnants of an ancient, unknown space-faring civilization called the Progenitors
(or Portal Builders). Using the wormhole-like portals, humanity colonized a new series of
star systems called the First Horizon. There, they discovered other portals which led them
to another series of star systems dubbed the Second Horizon. Again, more portals were
found leading them to the Third Horizon.

While power was consolidated and worlds conquered in the First and Second Horizon, the
Third Horizon’s discovery preceded a flooding of immigration by radicals, free-thinkers, and
anti-establishment types. They found rich, verdant worlds in the Third Horizon and began
peacefulyl constructing the worlds of their dreams. The peace would not hold.

The Portal Wars began when powers in the Third Horizon rebelled against the increasing
reach of factions of the First and Second Horizons. The wars were long and bloody,
culminating around 100 years ago when the portals that connected the Third and Second
Horizon were destroyed. The Third Horizon was victorious, but ultimately cut off, stranded
and without any connection to the rest of humanity, whatever had survived the Wars.

For a century, citizens of the Third Horizon endured the Long Night. Civilizations that had
risen and flourished, floundered and fell. Some bastions of hope held out, but many died,
many starved, some fled, nearly all went to ground and tried to survive. Communication
broke down.

It was then that the Zenith arrived. Fresh with supplies and bristling with tech and bright
minds, the newcomers - the Zenithians - set to work on establishing themselves. Wrought
with infighting, they split into factions to settle the Third Horizon, meeting its denizens - the
Firstcome - along the way.

It has been 60 years since the arrival of the Zenith. In that time, the remnants of the ship
have been assembled into the enormous Coriolis Station - the center of government,
diplomacy and trade in the Third Horizon - dominated by the Consoritum, a conglomeration
of companies that promote trade and capitalism throughout the Horizon. The arrival of the
Zenithians and the construction of Coriolis has brought stability to the fractured Horizon,
given commonground for factions to voice their opinions and broker deals, as well as
connected the long lost worlds to one another.

It has been two generations since the Zenith arrived. Everywhere across the Third Horizon
there is opportunity, there are riches to claim and power to seize. The peace is tenuous,
ready to tip over and spell war at any time. About the only thing that truly unites the people
of the Horizon is their faith in the Icons.

The Icons who guide them. The Icons who watch over and inspire them.

The Icons who keep the Dark Between the Stars at bay.

The Factions
Factions in the Third Horizon can be divided broadly into the Firstcome and
Zenithians.

Firstcome
The Firstcome are the descendants of the people who came to the
Third Horizon from the First and Second Horizon. They are generally
characterized by their mystical ideas about destiny and morality. They
believe in prayer, reverence, fortune, fate, and - above all - faith in the
Icons. The Firstcome factions are:

Ahlam’s Temple
A quasi-religious faction, the Temple believes that the Icons represent stages
and phases of human development. To that end, they encourage exploration of
sensory experience and learning. Members of their order are just as likely to be
judges, politicians and theoretical scientists as they are dancers, asetics and
wanderers. Their most famous adherents are the Courtesans, trained in
academies on Coriolis and Mira in the Eight Arts of Pleasure. Rumors abound
that a Ninth Art - the pleasure of death - is taught the Temple assasins. Others
say that high Temple members possess Mematurgy - the ability to implant
thoughts and belief into another’s mind.

The Draconites
When the Zenith arrived, many of its crew bickered about what to do, where to
settle, how to make contact. In the meantime, a group woke up those in stasis
and left, headed for distant worlds and dark places. While they hail from the
Zenith, the Draconites have more in common with their Firstcome allies than any
other group. Armed with mysterious tech from the first two Horizons (and
perhaps places beyond), they are a warrior cult that believes that struggle,
combat and conflict are the crucible through which a being must pass. They are
secretive, preferring to operate in small cells guided by strong leaders. Their
goal and philosophy remains a mystery - only that they must keep traveling,
keep fighting, and keep revealing.

The Church of the Icons
A movement that rests on the tradition of ancient cults from the First Horizon,
the Church is young but its power is far reaching. The Church believes that the
Icons are wholly good, and that evil only exists within humans, released when
they allow the Dark Between the Stars to enter into their life. Their monasteries
train Seekers, powerful holy people who possess mystical powers and travel as
preachers, diplomats and negotiators.Their goal is to call all people to the faith
and to facilitate their journey through the Nine Sacred Rites.

The Order of the Pariah
A cult that worships a form of the Judge referred to as the Matyr. This group is
widely viewed as charitable, running clinics, educational programs and medical
care for the needy throughout the Horizon. This view is heavily tainted however,
by the fact that they descend from a fanatical group that migrated from the First
Horizon. During the Portal Wars, their atrocities were legendary including fleets
of crusaders and flagellants, unremorseful and unforgiving in battle. This legacy
continues today in the form of their unique bionic tech which forges and deploys
living suits of armor, elite holy warriors ready to lay waste to worlds in harsh
contrast to the penitent monks found on Coriolis.

The Nomad Federation
An enormous faction made up of Firstcome families throughout the Horizon, the
Federation has a difficult time presenting a single face or creating meaningful
consensus on a single cause. They represent the old ways - laws, decrees and
traditions from before the arrival of the Zenith - and acting in tight-knit family
units they can quickly unite for a cause in an overwhelming wave. Their fleet is
by far the largest in the Horizon, unruly and disorganized as it is. They have been
increasingly unifying, fighting for more power and influence - and many outside
the Federation feel it’s their right.

Zenithian
A shared belief in pragmatism dominates Zenithian culture. They are
industrious and practical, but also ambitious: they seek to win riches,
gain influence and unite power in the Horizon under one rule to bring
about a golden age. While they acknowledge the Icon faith, they keep it
separate from their politics, policies and ideology. The Zenithian
factions are:

The Consortium
The largest and most powerful faction in the Third Horizon, made up of fifteen
megacompanies and their subsidiaries. They dominate trade, manufacturing,
media and science across the Horizon. The Bulletin (the Horizon’s main source of
news) belongs to the Consortium, as does the Foundation (tasked with R&D), and

the largest group colonizing new worlds, The Colonial Agency. Their headquar-
ters is Coriolis Station.

The Legion
Founded from the survivors of the Portal Wars, the Legion is a congolmeration of
mercenaries, armed skippers and battle-hardened soldiers. Although by nature
Firstcomers, when the Zenith arrived and began to spread throughout the
Horizon, they saw an opportunity and reformed to become the military arm of
Consortium operations. While anyone can emply the Legion, they are most often
seen in the emply of Consortium companies. They are based out of two flagships,
remnants of the Portal Wars, but their soldiers can be found keeping the peace -
or winning wars - on every system. The branch with the lowest reputation is the
Coriolis Gaurd.

The Free League
Members of the League pay annual fees, and in return they are part of a
brotherhood of the best pilots, deckhands, engineers and traders in the Horizon.
Freewheeling tramp freighters, outer world profiteers and movers of cargo of all
stripes hail allegiance to the League. Most of the best pilots and captains - even
within Consortium companies - are Leaguers. While they are accused of
constorting with the Syndicate, and formering their own neighborhoods within
settlements, few can doubt the can-do attitude of the Free League to open new
markets, settle new worlds and keep the Horizon supplied.

The Syndicate
A powerful collection of Zenithian families that run organized crime throughout
the Horizon. Best thought of as the Consortium’s shadow, they have their hands
in any gangland activity that will enrich their benefactors while keeping other
factions from outright challenging them. They only things they won’t deal in are
slaves and faction tech. Influential, dangerous and always pulling the strings
behind the scenes, they are said to have developed stealth ship tech in recent
years colloquially dubbed “The Black Ships.”

The Zenithian Hegemony
Some of the crew of the Zenith stayed on the ship that would become Coriolis
and thus transformed into the Consortium. Others left, settling on the planet Kua
below the station and formed the Hegemony. For these Zenithians, bloodline is
everying - blood that ties to the Zenith’s crew and their families position therein.
They are power hungry, believing themselves to be the rightful rulers of the
Horizon and challenging any who stand in their way. Their secret polits- the
Asturban - and their formidable fleet headed by the Justicars are intimidating
forces. While many send their childen to their Zenith Aviation Flight Academy -
the best in the Horizon - they worry about the hardline philosophies being taught
there.

Space combat

an idea of what each crew position get's to do.
Each combatant does each phase in initiative order. (p162)

1 Order Phase - Captain
All captains choose their orders secretly, and
roll command. If others follow their orders they get bonuses

2 Engineer Phase - Engineer
The engineers distribute their ships’ EP (energy points - used by other roles to do their actions), and
perform any necessary repairs.

3 Pilot Phase - Pilot
The pilots maneuver to get either closer to, or
farther away from, their enemy ship.

4 Sensor Phase - Sensor Operator
The sensor operators lock targets, break locks
on their own ships, and perform data attacks.

5 Attack Phase - Gunner
The gunners fire their weapon systems,
including countermeasures.