"The only place where gods inarguably exist is our minds where they are real beyond refute, in all their grandeur and monstrosity." - Alan Moore The spacefaring civilizations of the Milky Way galaxy have spent millennia under the iron-fisted rule of the mysterious and shadowy Qralezang Empire. The Qralezang ruled through fear, intimidation, and outright murder. They never appeared physically to their subjects; instead, these incredibly advanced aliens used nanotechnology to give millions of their subjects incredible abilities, while also turning them into mindless, service obsessed husks of their former selves. After untold numbers died in one failed rebellion after another, the people simply chose to accept their fate, eking out a semi-peaceful existence of obedience and servitude. So was the way of the galaxy... until the Qralezang vanished. First, the planet-killer ships they had stationed in orbit of the capitol world of every sector immediately headed for the nearest Bridge and went through, leaving the planets completely ungoverned. Then, all of their nano-modified slaves immediately switched back to their old selves, disconnected from their overlords but with all the powers their nanotech had granted them. The people were left completely ungoverned, with no inkling as to what had happened to the empire that had once dominated them. As might be expected, war followed. The remaining civilizations struggled to rebuild, fought over resources and territory. Then, in 1944 CE by human timekeeping, a Coalition of Free Systems was formed by the Vheerash, Bsirin, Chiropterid, and Resonant species, who originally formed its Senate. The Coalition has since been joined by hundreds of other species, and each has representatives in its government. The year is 2151, and humanity is the newest addition to the Coalition of Free Systems, bringing with it a growing virtual reality information network called the NeuroNet, built on pre-contact Internet technology. Using the energy of solar flares and the mostly-destroyed network of interconnected wormholes left by the Qralezang, the Coalition seeks to colonize and bring order to the frontiers of their small slice of the Milky Way. Qralezang nanotechnology still exists, unshackled from their programming, and those who choose to undergo the modifications are known as Deva. You are the crew of a Coalition starship. Your multi-species crew is tasked with the delivery and installation of a NueroNet Node in the Amaryllis system on the edge of Coalition space. This node will give the new colony on Midgard access to the NeuroNet, thus connecting them to the rest of the Coalition. The last three ships that attempted this mission over the past six months, however, were never heard from again. Political tensions born from these failed missions have forced Coalition leadership to declare that if this mission fails, Midgard and its colonists will have to be abandoned. Will your ship be the one to light up the dark system? --------------- OOC INFORMATION --------------- This is a sci-fi game set in a homebrew universe using the Savage Worlds: Deluxe Edition rules. While most races listed in the Science Fiction companion and a few in the core book are allowed, I encourage you to create your own race using the rules provided in the handbook. Make up your own aliens! I have a list of "xenotypes" that can act as a starting point for your alien species, but they're merely suggestions. Go wild! It's a big galaxy out there. I’m looking for players that will respect the mostly-serious tone of the setting (obviously grimdark super-serious all the time is not necessary), who have a desire to both immerse in role play and to enjoy the challenge and excitement of an actual game. We’re telling a story here, but we’re also playing a game. This game will take place over 3-5 sessions, and I'm looking for 1-3 more players to fly around in a space ship populated with weird aliens. The first session will be Session 0, where I'll answer any lore questions you might have, and we can create characters together as a group. If you're interested, leave a reply or shoot me a PM here, or on Discord as Papa Goblin#3641