2

Nearly 300 years from now, the calendar is turning over to a new year and a new age. In 2300AD, humanity is attempting to claim the stars as its own. Despite nearly destroying himself in the Twilight War, despite all the wars since, humanity has held on and kept the dream alive. 2300AD is the story of that dream, as humanity, reaches out to the stars.

In 2300AD, humanity has settled 32 inhabitable worlds and has outposts on many more. Human space is divided into three Arms: French, American and Chinese, each named for the domi-nant nation exploring it. The shape of these Arms is dictated by the limitations inherent in stutterwarp travel, the 7.7 light year range and so travel between the worlds at the centre and the worlds of the edge can take weeks or even months.

At the centre of Human space are the Core Worlds of Earth and Tirane. Tirane is the habitable planet of Alpha Centauri and is a near twin to Earth in climate, gravity and atmosphere. These two worlds together have nearly 90% of the Human population, with 90% of that total residing on Earth. For most people living out in the Frontier, the worlds of the Core are as distant and strange as any alien homeworld.

2300AD games range from interstellar exploration and interstel-lar war, down to the gritty streets and the mega-cities of the hu-man Core. This is a game about people and their rise to the stars. Aliens are a part of the 2300AD milieu but the focus of the game is on Humans.

2300AD strives to obey the laws of the universe as we know them. The stutterwarp drive, the technology that allows humanity to travel faster than light, is the sole departure from this. Some of the other technologies bend the laws a little but that is from the standpoint of the early 21st century. Three hundred years in the future is a long time. There are no blasters or laser swords in 2300AD, no magic anti-gravity or artificial gravity – just guns and helicopters, spin habitats and spaceplanes. At the same time, though, 2300AD is a game, not a hard-and-fast technical simulation.

s P A C e t r A V e LFor nearly 200 years, humanity has had the freedom of the stars but the hardest part remains getting into space. Stutterwarp drives are used to cross the vast gulf between stars, as it al-lows FTL (faster-than-light) travel at speeds up to five light years or more per day. For travel within a star system only, so-called

system ships use low-power variants of the standard stutterwarp drive, which still provide very high effective speeds within a sys-tem. Otherwise, travel to and from orbit still uses old-fashioned rockets and spaceplanes, although advanced technologies like catapaults and orbital elevators are also in use.

n A t i o n s A n d P o L i t i C sIn 2300AD, national interests continue to dominate human poli-tics, although the influence of transnational corporations (Tran-sNats) and the Foundations is pronounced as well. Many of the nations of today are still recognisable in this future world, includ-ing America, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Australia, along with many others. Foundations are non-government or-ganisations, usually self-funded, that pursue their own agendas, usually in support of science, colonisation, humanitarian or en-vironmental causes, while the TransNats pursue more mundane goals of profit and power.

C o L o n i e sHumanity has 47 colonies on 30 worlds, along with scattered outposts, enclaves, mining camps and science stations. The off-world population is a significant fraction of the Earth-bound population and for some nations (France, Britain, Germany, Aus-tralia) the off-world population is actually greater. These colonies exist for a number of reasons but one of the most important is national pride – only major nations have colonies. Colonies are also used to provide raw materials for home nation industries and markets for the products of those industries and also serve as a safety valve for the massive population of Earth. For those who can no longer stand the surveillance and control applied to such large populations, the colonies offer a haven, free from the ever-present cameras and constant monitoring. For the Earth-bound nations the colonies provide a pool of individuals who are still useful to the state, although not necessarily suited to being part of it.

A L i e n sIn nearly 200 years of star travel, humanity has encountered five sentient races, with archaeological evidence for at least one more. Humanity has gone to war with one of these races and may yet go to war with another. The first war, versus the Sung, was an absolute victory for the humans, lasting only a

INTRODUCTION

58

CRATERUWP: B751666-9 The world’s namesake is a massive 1,600 kilometre diameter impact crater in the southern hemisphere. Research suggests that the impact blasted away much of the world’s atmosphere and wiped out nearly 90% of the plant and animal life on the world. The planetoid fragment that struck had an unusually high concentration of radioactivity and other heavy elements and so while the rest of the planet is largely worthless in terms of natural resources, the area of the impact crater is extremely rich. The bottom of the impact crater itself is covered with a network of lakes and swamps and is uncomfortably hot. The only comfortable area within the crater is the mountain at its centre, the result of upwellings after the initial impact. COlOniAl DAtAUCP: B625664-9 Po 5 0Colony Name: Crater Nationality: British

The majority of the colonists are concentrated in the small city of Rimview on the upper edge of the crater. Many alternatives were initially considered before this site was chosen; it represents a compromise between a number of different possible sources of discomfort. Most of the city’s populace is employed in various light industries supporting mining or ranching. Notable features of the city include the large orbital catapault on the east edge of the city, the large elevator complex that allows a descent to the crater floor and the fusion plant located there and a network of underground flare shelters built into the crater wall below the city.

The colony on Crater is not an easy one to live in. Colonists living and working in the desert uplands must contend with a thin atmosphere, desert temperature extremes, a lack of potable water and other unpleasantness. Prolonged exertion is almost impossible in the uplands because of the low partial pressure of oxygen and the already thin atmosphere. As for temperature, the daytime temperature in the uplands can climb as high as 30ºC and drop to near 0º C in darkness. These extremes are the result of the thin atmosphere, which has poor heat-retentive qualities.

The miners who work within the crater have a different set of problems to contend with. The atmospheric pressure within the crater climbs as one approaches the floor of the rim; at the lowest levels, it approaches Earth-normal pressure. However, decreased altitude also brings a significant increase in temperature. The floor of the crater consistently runs 10º–15ºC higher than the upland temperatures. In full daylight, this is above the level of normal human tolerance and unmodified miners must wear protective clothing.

Character Notes: The upland farmers and ranchers on Crater usually get the ThinAir DNA modification. However, the miners will generally opt for the Hot Climate adaptation. While the two genetic communities are cordial, Crater does not have the

medical facilities in place to allow the sort of genetic intervention necessary for interbreeding between the two groups.

Crater has Low Gravity.

ADLERHORSTUWP: C986625-9

system DAtAPrimary Name: VogelheimX, Y, Z Coordinates: –29.6, –5.9, 19.4

Adlerhorst is a comfortable world towards the end of the French Arm, on a dead-end finger. This rugged planet supports a very diverse ecosystem, from the bottom of the oceans to the tops of the highest peaks. Most of this biological wealth is fully compatible with human dietary requirements. Unfortunately, humans are likewise eminently digestible to most of the world’s predators.

One of the most unique features of Adlerhorst is the domination of the two pseudo-avian animal groups over the other animal types in the eco-system. Unlike the birds of Earth, the Tomavians (almost birds) and Xenoavians (strange birds) have largely kept their teeth and many have manipulator appendages at the carpal joints of their wing-like forelimbs.

germAn COlOniAl DAtAUCP: C546645-9 Ag 5 0Colony Name: AdlerhorstNationality: German

The Bavarians were the first to settle this rich world and made the most of their colony, despite the distance from Earth. It is primarily an agricultural settlement and much of the work is still done with animals and brute force methods. Nonetheless, it is a highly-productive colony and shipments of luxury foodstuffs and some wonderful beers, are commonly exported.

During the War of German reunification, tensions ran very high on this world. An unsuccessful attack on the world’s sole

hummers (PterODeimOs vAr.)A bipedal carnivore native to the uplands of Brunnquell similar to the now extinct Diatrema of the Oligocene epoch on Earth. Their distress call is a loud, low-pitched hum, hence the name commonly applied to them by the early colonists. Hummers have effectively lost their wings but they retain large, wickedly curved claws on their legs, which they use to bring down their prey. Hummers attack in family groups, usually of six or more individuals, chasing their prey to exhaustion and then moving in for the kill with great slashing leaps. These fierce hunters are now largely restricted to the sparsely settled north-western plains of Brunnquell. Hummers range from 100–400 kilograms in weight and one to two metres in height.

59

1110

9

8

7654

3

2

11

2

34

56

7

8

91011

1110

9

8

7654

3

2

11

2

34

56

7

8

91011

Hex Scale in km

Crater

Major CitySpaceportCatapult

MiningFarming

Military Base

Fusion Plant

Solar Power Rectenna

Heavy Industry

Legend

990 km

Rimview Fortress

Dayside Nightside

Direction of World Rotation

N

S

EW

1110

9

8

7654

3

2

11

2

34

56

7

8

91011

1110

9

8

7654

3

2

11

2

34

56

7

8

91011

Hex Scale in km

Crater

Major CitySpaceportCatapult

MiningFarming

Military Base

Fusion Plant

Solar Power Rectenna

Heavy Industry

Legend

990 km

Rimview Fortress

Dayside Nightside

Direction of World Rotation

N

S

EW

1110

9

8

7654

3

2

11

2

34

56

7

8

91011

1110

9

8

7654

3

2

11

2

34

56

7

8

91011

Hex Scale in km

Adlerhorst

Major CitySpaceportCatapult

MiningFarming

Military Base

Fusion Plant

Solar Power Rectenna

Heavy Industry

Legend

1250 km

Brunnquell Turmfalken

Neuberg

Saint Benoit

Albatros Ozean

Direction of World Rotation

N

S

EW

109

By 2300, humanity has encountered five other sentient races, from the hostile and murderous Kaefers to the bizarre and un-fathomable Pentapods. Of these races, two had starfaring ca-pability at time of contact: the Pentapods and the mysterious Kaefers, while the Ebers lost the technology, along with all their other technology, when they bombed themselves back to the Stone Age 4,000 years ago.

The first Eber ruins were discovered in 2249 on Daikoku and again on Heidelsheimat three years later. These discoveries set the stage for the discovery of the Ebers and their homeworld at 82 Eridani in 2256, the third alien race contacted by Humanity.

Although they are the remnants of an interstellar society, the Ebers on 82 Eridani have a level of technology roughly equal to Renaissance Europe. They still tell stories of the time when their ancestors sailed between the stars.

Initial relations with the Ebers were awkward, due to the importance of ceremony and protocol to the aliens. Once Humans understood this fact, relations became much warmer as Humans learned to adapt (and not the reverse). Humans who deal with Ebers must do so in Eber dress, using Eber customs, at an Eber’s pace.

HOMEWORLDThe ancient Eber civilisation had spread through four worlds but they are currently only found on Kormoran, the third planet of the star 82 Eridani.

PlAnet DAtAName: KormoranDistance from Primary: 0.94 AUYear Length: 313.9 standard days, 423.2 local daysSize: 14,000 km in diameter

ChrOnOlOgy Of COntACt2247 First Contact with the Sung.2249 Discovery of Eber Ruins on Daikoku.2250 First Contact with the Xiang.2251 First Contact with the Pentapods.2256 First Contact with the Eber.2263 Pentapod enclave established on Beta Canum.2255 Slaver War.2295 First Contact with the Kaefers.2298 Kaefer Attack on Aurore.

t H e e b e r sAlmost 4,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Ebers ventured out to the stars. Unfortunately, they brought their fierce territoriality and ancient hatreds with them. Interstellar war ravaged their culture, leaving only a lone colony world to survive. They have only just built themselves back to the point where they have reinvented the steam engine.

ALIEN RACES

208

Workshop: A workshop is a mechanical workshop designed to handle most repair work. It includes an industrial fabricator to manufacture new parts and other equipment as needed. The workshop takes up 8 tons and costs MLv4.

Small Craft ComponentsAirlock: Unlike starships, a small craft does not have an airlock by default. Airlocks take up one ton each and cost MLv 0.2. If a craft does not have an airlock, then the crew cannot leave the craft except when it is landed or in a pressurised landing bay without opening the ship up to vacuum.

Cabin Space: Adding cabin space gives the crew more space to move around and to access other components of the ship, such as the engines or cargo bay. Every 1.5 tons of cabin space allows the craft to carry another passenger in moderate comfort (although passenger shuttles will customarily take Luxuries to upgrade the passenger section). Designating a section as cabin space costs MLv 0.05 per ton.

Acceleration Couches: A small craft may have acceleration couches for short duration passengers (such as for surface-to-orbit voyages). These take up 0.5 tons and cost MLv 0.03 each.

Other ComponentsA small craft may have any of the components allowed to larger vessels.

A r t i F i C i A L G r A V i t YFor any sort of long-duration flight, artificial gravity is necessary to maintain the health and well-being of the crew. The low grav-ities generated by spin habitats do contribute but still require stringent exercise and metabolic treatments. The psychological effects cannot be ignored; gravity allows the crew to eat, sleep and perform other daily functions in relative comfort and ease.

To design a spin habitat, add up the size of all ship components that you want to have under gravity.

Spun Hull: This is the simplest but usually largest, spin habitat type available. The hull is simply a large cylinder that spins around its axis, providing gravity along the edge of the cylinder. Due to Coriolis effects, the central part of the cylinder (within a radius of 15 metres) is unusable for crew or passengers and is usually used for cargo, fuel and low maintenance machinery. About 20% of the hull would be maintained at a comfortable gravity, with the rest being largely unusable for humans.

Spun hulls have a minimum size of 500 tons.

Double Hull: The outer hull spins but surrounds an enclosed inner hull which does not. The design is most useful for large designs, as the enclosed central hull is at least 15 metres in ra-dius. More often the hull is built as a torus and the central core is occupied by a non-spinning drive/power plant module. Most space stations are constructed in this fashion. Minimum size of the spun section is 60 tons.

Hamster Cage: The hamster cage is a cylindrical module that is at least 15 metres in radius and spins to create an artificial gravity. Unlike other designs, the hamster cage is usually set at right angles to the hull and is usually installed in counter-rotat-ing pairs. This eliminates torque effects on the ship’s attitude.

Spin Capsules: The spin capsule system is a set of small capsules at the end of a long rotating arm. Most ships have between one and four of these capsules, although two is the most common number.

Extendable spin capsules: The extendable spin capsule can retract against a vessel’s hull, minimising the target profile and reducing the vulnerability of the ship’s life support sections. This can also be used on a streamlined or air-frame vessel to fold the habitat areas away during atmospheric operations. This increas-es the size requirement by 50% and the price is doubled.

Two-body: Two ships of the same size can join up via a retract-able tower or pylon and spin around the common centre of mass. The volume given is for the connecting tower.

Spin Habitat Size and CostSpin Habitat Type Size (Tons) Price (MLv)Spun Hull 0.0 0.01

Double Hull 0.1 0.05

Spin Capsules 0.2 0.05

Extendable Spin Capsules 0.4 0.10

Hamster Cage 0.1 0.10

Two-Body 0.5 0.01

Size is for the spin machinery, including a flywheel, per ton of enclosed spin volume. For the two-body, the Size is for an extendable pylon and is 5% of the total size of the ships. The ships themselves must be of the same size.

220

AB.400 PASSENGER SPACEPLANEThe AB.400 is typical of the mid-sized scramjet spaceplanes used for commercial interface transport all over human space. Though designed primarily to carry passengers, the AB.400 can also carry a considerable amount of cargo in the bay under the passenger section.

AB.400 Passenger SpaceplaneHull Passenger

SpaceplaneSize (tons) Cost

80 ton hull Hull 1 0.9 Structure 1

Streamlining Hybrid Lifting Body 0.8 0.8 Landing Roll 800mTake-off Roll 960mArmour 0Heat Shielding 0.8 Stutterwarp Drive Unloaded 0

Loaded 0Tactical 0

Reaction Drive Air-Breathing Rocket 2 G Acceleration 3.6 7.2 Power Plant N/ARadiators N/ACockpit 2 Crew 3 0.8 Computer Model 1Electronics/Sensors StandardFuel 5 hours 16 Cargo 11.4 Passenger Couches 90 45 2.7 Maintenance Cost 0.01/monthLife Support CostTotal Tonnage and Cost 80 MLv13.2

TL: 11First Example Laid Down: 2267Last Example Laid Down: 2298Number Produced: 1200Producing Nation: France

221

AB 400 Passenger Spaceplane

3 Metres

1.5 Metres

Acceleration Chair Bay Door Edge

Chair Machinery

Bed Access Panel

Double Bunk Hatch

Internal Wall Hatch Floor

Bulk Head Hatch Ceiling

Door Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch)

Deck AccessCeiling (no hatch)

Deck AccessBoth (no hatch)

Toilet

Wash Basin

Shower Unit

Locker

1. Cockpit2. Emergency Locker3. Head4. Main Deck Access

Flight Deck is 1.5m High

Flight Deck

1

23 4

4

2 2 31. Landing Gear2. Cargo Bay3. Bay Doors4. Upper Deck Access

Cargo Deck is 1.5m High

1

1 1

Cargo Deck

3 3

Main Deck

Air Breathing Rocket Drive

1. 1st Class2. Head3. Galley/Storage4. Entrance/Exit5. Upper Deck Access6. Standard Class7. Emergency Exit8. Engine Maintenance Access9. Life Support10. Air Intakes

Main Deck is 3m High

1

2 34 4

2 2

5

7 7

6

6

8

9 9

10 10

Fuel Tanks(less than 1m thick)

9 9

10 10

256

s P A C e s t A t i o n sThere are almost as many types of space stations as there are worlds that they orbit. They fall into two general types, however. The first is the modular station, quite common as the orbital termi-nal for new colonies or serving as small workshacks or research stations. These stations are made up of a number of small 30 ton modules connected together with integral connectors. MODULAR SPACE STATIONModular Space Stations are common over all Human space. New colonies use them as orbital terminals, while more estab-lished worlds use them as laboratories, quarantine facilities or micro-factories.

The three modules presented here are the most common types, with others largely being variations on them. For example, a lab module is identical to the operations module, save that it re-places the workshop with another laboratory; while a quarantine module is identical to a living module, save that the doors cannot be opened from the inside.

Modular stations typically use a modified habitation module as a storm shelter. Each module does not have a storm shelter built-in.

OPERATIONS MODULEThe operations module has a power deficit which must be met by an external power source. The command pod is for use dur-ing emergencies, docking manoeuvres and similar situations.

Hull Operations Module Size (tons) Cost (MLv)30 ton hull Hull 1 0.45

Structure 1Radiation Shielding +6 armour vs. Radiation 3StreamliningPower Plant N/ARadiators N/ACockpit 1 Man 1.5 0.2Computer Model 3 2Electronics/Sensors Basic Civilian 1 0.3Fuel N/ACargo Supplies 3.5Staterooms 4 Offices 16 0.4Other Fixtures Workshop 1 8 4Maintenance Cost Lv2,000/monthLife Support Cost Lv8,000/monthTotal Tonnage and Cost 30 MLv8.55

HABITATION MODULEThe habitation module requires an outside source of power.

Hull Habitation Module Size (tons) Cost (MLv)30 ton hull Hull 1 0.45

Structure 1Radiation Shielding +6 armour vs. Radiation 3 Streamlining StandardPower Plant N/ARadiators Radiators A 0.3 0.03Cockpit N/A 0.2Computer Model 3 2Electronics/Sensors NoneFuel N/ACargo Supplies 5.1Staterooms 6 24 0.4Other Fixtures Recreation Space 0.6 0.3Maintenance Cost Lv1,000/monthLife Support Cost Lv12,000/monthTotal Tonnage and Cost 30 MLv4.33

257

POWER MODULEThis solar power module supplies power for all other systems. It includes a fuel cell as a backup.

Hull Power Module Size (tons) Cost (MLv)30 ton hull Hull 1 0.45

Structure 1Radiation Shielding +6 armour vs. Radiation 3Streamlining StandardPower Plant Fuel Cell A 1.19 5.0Radiators Radiators A 0.1 0.05Solar Panels Solar Panels A 0.5 0.05Cockpit 1 man 1.5 0.25Computer Model 3 0.15Electronics/Sensors NoneFuel 4 weeks 17.8Cargo NoneOther Fixtures Workshop 8 4Maintenance Cost Lv2,000/monthLife Support Cost Lv0/monthTotal Tonnage and Cost 30 MLv12.95