Advanced, often almost magic-like technology is common in science fiction in general, but especially in space opera. This is also true with the game, but the whole spectrum of existing technology is not common or easily available for the characters or the speciesof the Consortium in general. For example, there are alien artifacts left behind by the supposedly extinct Malachim culture and highly advanced technology developed by the artificial intelligences. Both of them are very difficult to come by and usually restricted by Consortium laws and regulations. Besides the rare and exotic Malachim and AI technology, there are also many commonly available technologies that would seem like magic to the earthborn ancestors of the mankind. Energy Consortium’s energy technology has reached the point where stellar amounts of energy can be produced and managed on a large-scale. Anti-matter reactors are the standard in FTL capable spaceships and most space stations. Smaller scale energy production is handled by portable cold fusion reactors or microscopic superconductive and self-recharging nano-cells. Amatium Amatium is an ore found in some star systems. It can be refined to a stable anti-matter fuel that is usually contained in penning trap cylinders for ease of transportation. Amatium also enables sophisticated nanotechnology, positronic brains, precision gene-splicing and some metamaterials used in the manufacturing of fargates and hyperdrive generator cores. Amatium is one of the most valued and sought after resources in the known space and the rich amatium deposits in the Lost Expanse has elicited the megacorporations and Consortium representatives to the area – especially the Prosperity Belt – where are several small black holes in the area, figuratively and literally. Transportation Transportation technology has taken vast steps forward with the progress of the energy technology. A thousand years ago faster-than-light travel allowed humanity to spread into stars and now the hyperdrive technology has become the standard in interstellar travel. Hyperdrive Hyperdrive generators warp the space around the spaceship creating a hyper-dimensional slipstream where the spaceship can travel at speeds faster than light without breaking the special theory the relativity. The travel is not instantaneous, but speeds up to 50-times the speed of light can be reached with most of the interstellar hyperdrive generators. Usually it takes around a week to travel one light-year, but the travel times can be slowed down or diverted by large stars, blackholes or nebulas in the path. Another poorly understood phenomena affecting the hypertravel are the hyperstorms often encountered in the Rift and to lesser extent in the Lost Expanse. Fargates While hyperdrive is still the standard in interstellar travel, the fargate technology is slowly replacing the need for it in many of the Consortium worlds. Fargates are devices that can create a stable wormhole connecting to another fargate. The wormholes are spherical in shape and the diameter varies from 100 to 500 meters. So far it has not proven successful to build a fargate device that could produce a smaller wormhole. The transition through a fargate to another is practically instantaneous and it is considered safe. But the big downside with the fargates is that they are very expensive and time-taking to build. Building a fargate requires exceptional amounts of amatium and other rare materials. Currently the fargate technology is available only for the Consortium member worlds. Materials Various artificial metamaterials make super-hard transparent or shape-changing materials possible. These materials are used everywhere from the most common everyday products to high-quality military-grade products, spaceships and such. Omnimass Perhaps the most widely used metamaterial is the omnimass. It is a nano-particle mass that can be shaped into almost any form, color and density. It can mimic and bond with most usual materials to a degree that it is hard see with a naked eye if something is fixed or mended with omnimass. All that is needed to shape omnimass is a portable tool with a simple software. It is the ultimate duct tape for any spaceship engineer or nanosmith. Weapons technology The advancements in energy, force field and material technologies have made such weapons as particle pulse beam and energy melee weapons not only possible, but also practical and cheap enough to make projectile weapons outdated. Of course there are significant new innovations made with projectile weapons also, but instead of being the standard, they have become more specialized or exotic weapons, used mostly by specialized professionals. Because of the pressurized structures of spaceships, space stations and other habitats, melee weapons have once again become useful. Of course there are ranged weapons that are designed to be safe inside pressurized facilities, but the confined spaces give the melee weapons an edge over the ranged weapons. To compensate the highly durable armor materials, the melee weapons had to be also made more advanced. Pulse weapons Particle pulse beam weapons, or “pulse weapons” for short, are the most common type of an energy weapon. They are used by civilians and military alike, but with different weapon configurations. Pulse weapons shoot focused particle pulses with different degrees of concentration and intensity. Civilian pulse weapons usually have the stun and low-energy settings, while military grade pulse weapons can shoot high-energy pulses capable of penetrating heavy armor or light walls, continuous beams and scatter shots depending on the weapon type. Vibroblades Vibroblades have a durable ultra-thin blades vibrating magnetically thousands of times per second. While active, the silently humming blade creates a soft sonoluminescence glow around its edges. The glow brightens and the humming turns into high-pitched screech as the blade cuts through solid matter or a force field. Force Fields The invention of the gravity and electromagnetic radiation manipulation made various force field technologies possible. Artificial gravity is perhaps the most commonly used force field technology, and anti-gravity propulsion and deflector shield technologies are based on the same technology. Deflector shields The deflector shields are standard equipment on any voidjammer or large military vehicle, but so far only nibirans have mastered the technology to make portable deflector shields. These are usually wielded as conventional shields or temporary emergency shields that form a protective bubble around the wielder for a few seconds. The energy shields are good for giving extra protection in melee or in boarding operations, while the “barrier bubbles” offer temporary protection against explosions or heavy weapons fire. Nanotechnology In the Universe nanotechnology has become an ubiquitous and pervasive technology. It has many uses and because of its unperceivable nature, its presence is often disregarded. Rifters and other space-faring groups or species use more radical and advanced nanotechnology in various forms, some even requiring very special practice or implants to employ. Nano-veils Nano-veils are controlled by nanokinetics who host these semi-intelligent nano-swarms that swirl around them like a thin transparent veil; or hide inside their hosts until they are needed. Depending on the nanokinetic’s training and software, the nano-swarms can be used for various tasks from optical camouflaging or remote sensing to kinetic attacks. Artificial Intelligence Some being chose to have an artificial intelligence implanted in their brain stem. This AI tends to function as a virtual assistant who can retrieve information for the host. The AI can function as a separate entity. The AI's skills can be as varied as any living being. Medical technology Like the other fields of science and technology medical technology has also taken huge strides forward. Any med-pod can do standard surgical operations or emergency resuscitation, and accelerated healing and mending of bones can be achieved with nanomed injections. In case you happen to lose a limb or one of your less vital organs, it’s cheap and fast to nanoprint a cybernetic prosthetic and implant it with a standard procedure in your med-pod, but still, nothing can match the original. You can always get an organ or body part cloned in a few weeks – or even in a few days if you are in a rush, but it will cost you more. Cloning (Nemogen) Cloning and genetic manipulation is almost a form of art, but also a very large business. Volk-Kozerog megacorporation is the leading nemogen manufacturer and their warclones are used by Consortium military and many megacorporations for high-risk military operations. Nemogens are clones manufactured from optimized DNA framework for various servant and labour tasks. Warclones are also nemogens, but a whole different breed. Where as nemogens are made to be docile servants, warclones are made for war and violence. Nemogens and warclones are implanted with stock memory implants and programmed with safety measures to keep them obedient to their imprinted masters. Nemogens usually have a tattoo or branding on their temples or necks indicating their designer and manufacturer. The nemogens are allowed in the Consortium worlds, but their legal position is controversial in many of the independent frontier worlds. Especially genics often perceive nemogens more as slaves than commodities. Cryostasis Cryogenic stasis is practical when making long interstellar trips. It was initially developed to make long space journeys possible, but after the invention of the hyperdrive, which reduced time of passage, cryostasis become more of a convenience. A typical voidjammer has recycling systems that can provide water and air for extended periods for it's crew, but food or hydroponic farms need space which is often a luxury when travelling in space. Therefore it is still more practical to travel in cryostasis if the trip takes more than a week or so – which is the case for most interstellar trips anyway. Longevity Therapy The Orgel’s treatment is the most popular method for extending the lifespan by a hundred plus years in the Consortium worlds. It is possible to upload a consciousness to another body, but it is known that this can have serious psychological consequences. The mind can start to reject the new body, even if it was a clone of the original body. Other cultures than humans do not have such need or craving for longevity. The only other culture that is known to use longevity treatments to some extent are the nibirans. So far the longest living human alive is almost a few hundred years old now. He is known to be in great mental and physical condition, but the treatment has its side effects. Extended Orgel’s treatments will reduce the pigmentation overtime, causing a form of albinism after around 250 years of treatment. The first treatment extends a humans life by 100 yrs while the proceeding treatments have a diminishing return (each treatment effect is reduced by half) till it reaches the point of not working. The Orgel's treatment is compatible with only baseliners. VOIDJAMMERS As many other popular science fiction books, movies or tv-series features spaceships as a unifying element for the player characters so does this game. All player characters are crew members of a voidjammer spaceship. This creates a natural connection and aligned motives between the characters. Obviously this doesn’t mean that the characters would always agree on everything and share similar goals. Besides being rallying points and mobile bases, they also act as customizable extensions for the characters. The characters can make their own idiosyncratic additions and modification to the ship and so make it serve its crew the best. For example, a rifter crew specialized in smuggling could have falsified transponder signal software or hidden compartments installed around the ship, where as a crew specialized in long-range treasure hunting expeditions could have improved sensors and cold sleep units. ( Game mechanic : The ship can be built as a gadget and players can put dice into the ship and it's cliches. ) What are Voidjammers Voidjammers are spaceships with sensors and hyperdrive systems modified to handle the eccentric hyperspace conditions in the Rift and the Lost Expanse. Because of their specialized nature they are typically used by rifters, but by others as well. For instance pirates, nomads and metacorporation maintain fleets of voidjammers. All voidjammers are unique, because there are no mass-produced voidjammers at the moment. Even the metacorporations customize their ships from mass-produced models to traverse the Rift. There are ship docks that are specialized in refitting ships to voidjammers all around the Frontier Worlds and overtime a few assembly types have become more or less of a standard. Pirates have captured ship docks hidden in their area of control while nomads tend to use the known ship docks for any repair or construction work on voidjammers. Deep Space 6 is a ship dock that can repair or custom build a voidjammer. Ship Types Even if all voidjammers are one-of-a-kind ships, they are still built on an existing chassis to serve a specific purpose. It has become common to classify voidjammers by their fuselage, equipment and basic capabilities with the following names: Hunter – Usually refitted patrol or escort crafts with light weaponry, good maneuverability and descent sensors. Explorers and traders tend to use these voidjammers. Phantom – Stealth capable voidjammers mostly made of decommissioned stealth bombers or surveillance ships. Pirates and metacorps are known to use these voidjammers Mule – These robust voidjammers are capable of moving large amounts of cargo and they are usually made of old tugs or cargo ships. They are the most commonly seen voidjammer near the rift and frontier worlds that is crewed by traders. Pilgrim – This ship configuration is customized for extended long-range expeditions in the Lost Expanse or constant traveling in the frontier. Usually metacorporations and nomads use these voidjammers. Raider – Heavily armed and armored voidjammer typically built out of old bombers or assault gunships. Pirates, metacorps, and nomads tend to use these voidjammers Dart – Darts are the fastest voidjammers available and make excellent blockade runners and courier ships. Nomads and Pirates usually have many of them in use. Smugglers use them also. For practical reasons most voidjammers used by rifters are ships that can be operated with a minimal crew. Most ships have at least a rudimentary AI that can handle simple tasks or delegate some of them to drone units if the ship happens to have any. Crewing a Voidjammer As a part of the character creation a player can choose to have a voidjammer as part of their primary cliche (if appropriate) and they can spend dice to add a few customizations to it (gadget). The crew (group) can pool dice together in a voidjammer pool. Depending on the character’s role certain options become available or easier to get. For example, a crew consisting mostly of mercs specializing in bounty hunting are more likely to have a hunter, raider or even a dart as their voidjammer than a mule or pilgrim have spent dice into sensors, weapons, or even engines cliches. If the crew has more diverse roles, there will be more options (see customizing) open for the players to choose from. Customizing the Ship Roles and specializations open different customization options for the voidjammer. With correct modifications(cliche) it is possible to make a fast stealth mule ora heavily armed long-range hunter, but it will be costly in credits (and dice) and specialized modifications always require sacrifices to be made. Besides modifying and upgrading the main systems – such as engines, generator or life support –a voidjammer can be also outfitted with different auxiliary systems. A medbay, a nanofabricatoror a drone repair station are not vital parts of the ship’s systems, but they can contribute to the crew’s functionality a lot. Decision of the voidjammer’s customization is something that the players need to decide together. To give a few examples a voidjammer specialized in smuggling might have a secret hatch placed somewhere in the ship, a doc could have a medbay and a psionic could have a meditation tank installed in the ship. After the initial customizations the ship can of course be upgraded further the old fashion way – with cold cash or valuable favors (dice for mechanical purposes).