The Profane & The Celestial - Godstar & the Cepheus Engine Rpg Greater Universe Threat

 

"Within the Million Sun Empire sits a desert world orbiting a sentient star: god-himself-the Godstar. Pilgrims flock to it with their offerings. The Godstar's oracles gives out advice, formulae, prognostications and strategy. It is a holy world. But war forced industrialisation on the planet Aurelia, causing social tension and conflict.

A new noble house, House Pelinor, has been granted the fiefdom of Aurelia, but it has many enemies: the local Utani Sand Men, the priests of the Church of the Godstar, the rival House Arakan that it deposed, local crimelords and even the Skygazers, those wandering mystics who claim to speak with the Godstar as they meditate whilst staring up at the blazing disc. They have paranormal powers."

We grabbed Godstar by Zozer Games a little while ago & while its similar to Frank Herbert's Dune series. There's vast differences right from the get go: 

1. Godstar's star is a literal living alien god. An active deity that takes a hand in human affairs
2. The NPC's are very well drawn outside of their stats & are perfectly slotted for the setting. 
3. Unlike Dune a party of adventurers could be perfectly suited to be a group of gladiators 
4. No sand worms which means that desert exploration is an option & encouraged. 

The planet Aurelia is a really an interesting addition to the Cepheus Engine rpg universe. There's more then a bit of backstory that can be pulled into an existing campaign. What is familiar to fans of Dune is the personal force field. These render firearms far less useful. So swords, knives, & spears become far more a part of formal dueling. And all of this seems very much in the vein of Sword & Planet genre. But there is an original Traveller rpg connection. The Ursa Major Confederation or UMC is a free download from Paul Elliot with a major Godstar connection: "Ursa Major Confederation (UMC) The Confederation is a human interstellar state of 27 worlds occupying a single subsector of interstellar space. Humans arrived in the subsector two centuries ago through an alien hypergate" 

Ursa Major Confederation (UMC) fits many of the ideas of the Talon sector's politic, tech levels, & backstory as an outlying branch of humanity that is struggling under the major threat of yet another alien germ within its background. This alien threat is poised to wipe out humanity in several major strikes. 

The Ursa Major Confederation (UMC) could be another branch of humanity taken by aliens making it primed for a major connection to TSRO's diplomatic corps. 

All of this ties back into something that's been on my mind now for quite awhile the idea that the several alien races from Dark Conspiracy rpg are using the Protodimensions as a sort of interstellar short cut. This is where DC's Protodimesions volume 1 comes in. 

Could Godstars mystics & wizards be opening their own universe or star system for invasion. Or are they already well versed in the threat that alien Lovecraftian gods pose?!  According to my fellow DM's its the latter especially if we add Sword of Cepheus to the equation.