Ceras Sector

The following is world building prep-work that was done for an upcoming Starforged campaign. Following the advice in the Solo Game Master’s Guide section “10 ways to start your session that aren’t character creation” I chose option 4. “Create a political or history of a place.” This led me to start with creating the game’s primary sector first, work out the major factions, and think about what the greatest points of conflict were within sector. The sector was built primarily with Starforged Oracles but names were generated using my own custom world name generator. Eventually I plan to incorporate some Oracle content from Pocket Empires and Mongoose Traveller Supplement 12: Dynasty.

Here is the current widely known information about the Ceras Sector, more details will be added as they are generated through play:

The Systems

Eratis System

Eratis is the heart of the of Ceras sector and the capital system of the United Planets, the major political entity in Ceras. The sector is named after the glowing orange star that helped make Eratis a garden world. When a respected prophet foresaw the destruction of Eratis the planet united into a goal of space exploration. That was almost 300 years ago and belief in the prophecy has waned but there are some who still truly believe Eratis is doomed.

As the exploration effort initially failed to find other vital worlds, the plans turned to establishing forward bases to expand and extend the operations. Planets or asteroids rich in the necessary metals to build starships were prioritized.

There are 21 hours in a day on Eratis and 167 days in a year. The calendar date is presently kept as years since the first exploration rocket launch. The current year for most citizens of the United Planets is 320 AE.

Ersoarle

The first system explorers found suitable to setup a permanent base of operations was an uninhabited rocky world with a thin atmosphere. The planet had a significant amount of mineral deposits within its extensive mountain ranges.

There are 28 hours in a day on Ersoarle and 315 days in a year. Most citizens on Ersoarle keep time in accordance with the United Planets primary calendar system though.

Esarer

As the mining operations returned promising results and enabled advanced starship technologies, the exploration plans grew bolder. When the exploration service found the ice world of Esarer orbiting a burning yellow star within the habitable zone, the thought was that perhaps it could be terraformed into a vital world. Those operations are still ongoing today but an uprising on Esarer led to the formation of the Sovereign Empire. The corporation entrusted with the terraforming operation instead mined numerous asteroids extending out from the nearby Tesile Asteroid Field. They converted these resources not into terraforming assets but warships which they used to secure the populace and their hold around the Esarer System. 166 years after the citizens of Eratis set out to explore the known galaxy, they had lost their first system.

There are 19 hours in a day on Eratis and 375 days in a year. Esarer’s calendar year is currently 154.

The Stations

United Planets currently operates one naval forward base station and is constructing a second one. Another station is independently operated by the Union of Elder Navigators. The Sovereign Empire maintains 100s of early warning sensor posts along the Empire’s border with the United Planets but these rigs are not space stations in the traditional sense.

Burnell

The Burnell station, near the Teisle Asteroid Field, was originally designed as a layover point between Eratis & Esarer. It was hoped this would generate fruitful commerce between the two systems. Now it is the forward Naval operations base as well as supporting nearby asteroid mining.

Fuller

A second planned station, Fuller, is under construction. Originally it was hoped that Fuller would help extend exploration operations and provide a resupply point between Esarer and Ersoarle. Plans have shifted to providing Naval support, though factions within the United Planets still desire to expand & extend the exploration opportunities.

Orgear

Orgear is the home and training hub for the Union of Elder Navigators (UEN). While the station does manage some trade and offer fuel and supplies, it is mainly concerned with educating the next generation of starship navigators. Almost all United Planet starships have a UEN navigator on board and while the Sovereign Empire has taken on developing their own navigators the training methods are based on those brought over from Union members who stayed loyal to the Empire.