 May 31, 2012 - 11:45am | The UPF was organized out of the emergency of the First Sathar War. The first Session of the Council of Worlds saw representatives of most but not quite all worlds represented on the AD map. Space Fleet's mandate as the primary line of defence for this interstellar federation is to keep these systems safe. Each new world admitted to the UPF increases Space Fleet's area of responsibility and by extension its budget requirements. If the new admission has a strong economy then, in theory it contributes more then it costs the UPF. There has been an undercurrent of discouraging new colonization in the Frontier dating as far back as 10 PF Representatives of the four major races request that all explorations cease while delegates meet to form a unified defense and mutual interest organization. The truth is that they were afraid of new lightly populated or outpost colonies being included in the future UPF and the expense they would cause while not actually contributing much overall. Time and again exploration and new colonies have been discouraged. True enough there are differences between the AD map and the Zebs map but most of these system have a mega corp sponsor so they weren't just admitted, they were fast tracked into the UPF treaty. As the UPF matures its consistently thrown up hurdles to new colonies if its judged that their economy is marginal. Also the longer the period of time since the last sathar war the greater the decrease in Space Fleet's budget thus creating more pressure to not let in light or outpost population level colonies. a very public precedent to refusing admission is Mechano although there were other consideration to its blocked entrance to the UPF. Despite attempts to dissuade new colonization and exploration these activities still go on. Religious groups and cults occasionally manage to fund expeditions. there are always rumors of pirate bands establishing bases outside of UPF jurisdiction, mega corps look to expand exploitable resources secretly on the Alcazar model. And sometime individuals with wanderlust decide to head out into the black. Servicing these peripheral colonies are tramp freighters, CFM ships, and sometimes a corporate carrier (but only to a corporate system). This generally is not much law out on the periphery or at least not much more then you can establish with a gun. There is always the danger of pirate bands and sathar and possibly other mysteries. Travel amongst the periphery can be very wild, exciting and dangerous. There a new sand box take on the Frontier. The AD and Zebs map represents the core and the edges of the map lead to adventure. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 May 31, 2012 - 11:58pm | Good idea. I have often tried to explain the picture in the back of the AD book of the PanGal salesman trying to sale some poky looking chess piece to a hunter gather looking human who tries to eat it. This could be a distant outpost world that has been unserviced for some time and gone primitive. -iggy |
June 1, 2012 - 3:45am | With a little bit of work you can do a Stars without Number sand box in the Frontier setting. Recasting the core Frontier systems as becoming jaded and cynical and being all conservative about thier position, "We don't want to overextend ourselves or the sathar could take us out and end civilization altogether. Sorry but we did order that exploration and new colonization should be halted for a time and yet you went a head and did it anyway. So what, now we're suppose to spend millions to expend proper Space Fleet protection to few tens of thoughsands of individuals who didn't obey us in the first place? You're economy is marginal at best and it will take at least a decade before you can even contribute meaningfully to your own defense." -answer for a mid level beureacrat A little latter on a company man from mega corp x shows up and offers to protect the colony in exchange for the company recieving control of the colony and for the labor of the colony in developing exploitable resource y which will pay for the colony. Nothing is said about what happens when the resource runs out. I actually like the idea of the Zebs map representing the core "urban" systems much like the core systems in Firefly. The reason the map doesn't show the jump routs leading off the edge of the known world is rooted in their arrogance that they are The Civilization. The worms can pick off the others but they will persist. in the Brave New Frontier the sathar will need to be toned down and not a threat capable of wiping out the Frontier and Space Fleet but a maurading threat that could wipe out individual colonies much like the reavers in Firefly. Someone born on a new colony will not have an ID card and upon arrival in the core will need to apply for one and pay a fee (the fee is set arbitrarily high just because). To have a jaded society you'd need to advance the timeline a bit- make the UPF 150 to 200 years old. there are no more mega corp wars within the core but they do go one out amoung the new colonies, sometimes the new colonies have their manpower impressed into service as well. the ifshnits and the CFM would be a force for good in the New Brave Frontier, willing to help a little because if the new outpost get knocked off or become 'company towns' it reduces their trade network I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 1, 2012 - 11:13pm | They have been doing that out in the Expanse Sector, and all over the "unmapped interior" of the Frontier Sector, for centuries as it is... the Vast Expanse was already sanctioned by the book as a home to claim jumpers and GM home-grown worlds that exist beyond Star Law and Council jurisdictions and control... the unnamed areas beyond Sundown and Liberty were assumed to be used as well... then there is all that "unmapped space" right there on the default map, which is supposed to be more densely filled with stars than shown, and the encouraging statements to put a star wherever you like, there is lots more room than it looks like there is in there. Oh humans!!  We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
