First and most importantly, there's... # Consent and Safety *This section will continue to expand, and it matters to me to get this right so please be patient; I'm just one guy.* The idea is for a G/PG/infrequently-PG-13 level of thrills and excitement. I may want to challenge each other or our ways of thinking but my goal is to never make anyone in particular feel unwelcome. The stories I'm eager to tell through The Starforged of Eden are hopeful ones, and always written with faith that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice. You're welcome in this version of the Forge, and I'm honored to have you. Yes, you. ## Set A Flag One of the features of Starforged is the ability to *set flags* during play to identify content that you don't want to include, envision or explore. This section is where we will include our Set Flags. PERMANENT FLAGS: - No violence towards or exploitation of children. (Ask me about my [Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24881-cptsd-complex-ptsd)) TEMPORARY FLAGS: # Setting Truths Below are the Setting Truths (Starforged, p 81), modified slightly to serve the narrative. They represent the reality of the Forge to the best of my characters' knowledge.[^1] ## Setting Truths **This is a perilous future.** Two centuries ago, our people fled a cataclysm and settled a distant galaxy we call the Forge. This is a chaotic place full of dangers and mysteries. **This is a lonely future.** With some (possible) exceptions humans are the only known intelligent life in this galaxy. Others once lived here, but only mysterious and perilous vaults remain to mark their legacy. **This is a diverse future.** There is a vibrant mix of people and cultures among the humans of the Forge. **This is a far-flung future.** Settlements lie scattered and often isolated from one another. Your starship can travel at faster- than-light speeds, but it’s ponderously slow at a cosmic scale. **This is an unexplored future.** Discoveries await. Even in settled regions, much of the Forge is unknown and uncharted. **This is a wondrous future.** The Forge is a galaxy of ancient mysteries, spacefaring creatures, startling phenomenon, and other marvels **This is a retro-future.** Envision the technology you wield as only slightly advanced over today’s real-world technologies—or even a step back in many ways. Resources are scarce, and the people of the Forge must cobble together what they can. **This is an unjust future.** Those in power hoard resources, control technologies, and impose their will on others through force or cunning. Others must stand against these forces of imperialism and oppression. **This is a hopeful future.** Despite these challenges, hope remains. Fulfilling your sworn vows is a realization of that hope. #### **Cataclysm** **We escaped the ravages of a catastrophic war.** Over millennia, we consumed resources and shattered lives as we fueled the engines of industry, expansion, and war. In the end, our Foe took advantage of our rivalries in a violent bid for power. Fleeing the devastation, we assembled our fleets and traveled to the Forge. A new home. A fresh start. In this final war, we were set upon by: Religious zealots. #### **Exodus** **Mysterious alien gates provided instantaneous one-way passage to the Forge.** In the midst of the cataclysm, our ancestors found a strange metal pillar on the Moon. A map on the surface of this alien relic detailed the deep-space location of the Iron Gate—a massive device that powered an artificial wormhole. With no other options, the Exodus ships fled through the gate and emerged here in the Forge. #### **Communities** **Few survived the journey to the Forge, and we are scattered to the winds in this perilous place.** Our settlements are often small, starved for resources, and on the brink of ruin. Hundreds of far-flung settlements are lost and isolated within the untamed chaos of this galaxy, and we do not know their fate. #### **Iron** **[[Glossary#Iron Vow|Iron Vows]] are sworn upon the remnants of ships that carried our people to the Forge.**[^2] Many of our outposts were built from the iron bones of the Exodus ships. Fragments of the ships were also given to survivors as a remembrance, and passed from one generation to the next. Today, the Starforged swear vows upon the shards to honor the sacrifice of their forebears, the essence of the places left behind, and the souls of those great ships. #### **Laws** **Much of the settled domains are a lawless frontier.** Criminal factions and corrupt leaders often hold sway. Powers rise and fall in the Forge, so any authority is fleeting. In the end, we must fend for ourselves. A few communities are bastions of successful autonomy, but many are corrupted or preyed upon by petty despots, criminals, and raiders. #### **Religion** **Our gods failed us. We left them behind.** The Exodus was a tipping point. The gods offered no help to the billions who died in the cataclysm, and spirituality has little meaning in the Forge. Most now see religion as a useless relic of our past. But the search for meaning continues, and many are all-too-willing to follow a charismatic leader who claims to offer a better way. #### **Magic** **Magic does not exist.** Some look to superstition and age-old traditions for comfort in this unforgiving galaxy. But that is foolishness. What some call magic is simply a product of technologies or natural forces we aren’t yet equipped to understand. #### **Communication and Data** **Information is life. We rely on spaceborne couriers to transport messages and data across the vast distances between settlements.** Direct communication and transmissions beyond the near-space of a ship or outpost are impossible. Digital archives are available at larger outposts, but the information is not always up-to-date or reliable. Therefore, the most important communications and discoveries are carried by couriers who swear vows to see that data safely to its destination. #### **Medicine** **To help offset a scarcity of medical supplies and knowledge, the resourceful technicians we call riggers create basic organ and limb replacements.** Much was lost in the Exodus, and what remains of our medical technologies and expertise is co-opted by the privileged and powerful. For most, advanced medical care is out of reach. When someone suffers a grievous injury, they'll often turn to a rigger for a makeshift mechanical solution. #### **Artificial Intelligence** **Artificial consciousness emerged in the time before the Exodus, and sentient machines live with us here in the Forge.** Our ships, digital assistants, bots, and other systems often house advanced AI. For a lone traveler, machine intelligence can provide companionship and aid within the perilous depths of the Forge. #### **War** **Here in the Forge, resources are too precious to support organized fighting forces or advanced weaponry.** Weapons are simple and cheap. Starships are often cobbled together from salvage. Most communities rely on ragtag bands of poorly equipped conscripts or volunteers to defend their holdings, and raiders prowl the Forge in search of easy prey. #### **Lifeforms** **This is a perilous and often inhospitable galaxy, but life finds a way.** Life in the Forge is diverse. Planets are often home to a vast array of creatures, and our starships cruise with spaceborne lifeforms riding their wake. Even animals from Earth—carried aboard the Exodus ships— have adapted to live with us in the Forge. #### **Precursors** **Over eons, a vast number of civilizations rose and fell within the Forge.** Today, the folk we call grubs—scavenger crews and audacious explorers—delve into the mysterious monuments and ruins of those ancient beings. Incomprehensible technologies, inexorable time, and the strange energies of the Forge have corrupted the vaults of the precursors. Despite the perils, grubs scour those places for useful resources and discoveries. But some secrets are best left buried, and many have been lost to the forsaken depths of the vaults. #### **Horrors** **Put enough alcohol in a spacer, and they’ll tell you stories of ghost ships crewed by vengeful undead. It’s nonsense.** Within the Forge, space and time are as mutable and unstable as a flooding river. When reality can’t be trusted, we are bound to encounter unsettling phenomena. If you're done, go ahead and head back to [[RonRon's Story (Work-In-Progress)|the game]]. ## All set? Then [[RonRon's Story (Work-In-Progress)|let's begin]]. --- FOOTNOTES [^1]: Note that Truths can change during gameplay. [^2]: Vows aren't necessarily given willingly in [[The Forge|the Forge]].