Galactic Refugees----A Random Roll Story Asset Generator

[taalismn]

Galactic Refugees----A Random Roll Story Asset Generator
“Sensors show multiple emerges from overspace! Six-ten-twenty---thirty!”
”Any warbook hits? What are they?!”
“Hardly anything above medium transport mass...no war-drives that the big dishes can see...and they all got signatures of class-C jump drives....Okay, we’re getting comm-traffic from them...Sir, it’s a colonial distress code and consortie civilian transponders. These people are claiming to be , quote, ‘all that’s left from Atorga Colony ’ .”
“Direct them to a parking orbit. Get CAP to do a close-scan fly-by. Keep Yellow Alert status up until we have a confirmation on their claims, but I’m informing High Command we may have another ragtag fleet refugee situation here and we should prepare for a lot of extra hungry mouths to feed.”

“Great, there goes the neighborhood.”

Conflict, turmoil, and misfortune have often led to the uprooting and displacement of peoples across history. It is no different in the Three Galaxies; war, famine, economic hardship, and catastrophe have led to those able to taking to the road in search of greener pastures, sanctuary and safety.
Such forced migrations can lead to massive geopolitical and cultural changes(IRL, the Irish in America, the Jewish Diaspora and the establishment of Israel. In fiction, BSG’s RagTag Fleet. In Palladium, the Wolfen fleeing the TGE). Refugee movements can also disrupt nations and regions, breed resentment and prejudice, encourage lawlessness(especially among those seeking to exploit the refugees), or the dissemination of cultural ideas and technologies.
The experience of refugees can vary wildly; not all are happily accepted on alien shores, while others are readily assisted and helped. Depending on circumstances, they may be regarded as an asset to manpower-starved worlds, or unwelcome drains on local resources and living space. Many are turned away back into the unknown, others are effectively quarantined isolated refugee camps while apathetic governments decided what to do with them. Other refugee groups, desperate for supplies, may turn pirate, raiding weaker worlds and communities to take what they want(and possibly generating further refugees in the process). The Machine People were rejected by the AI-hating Human Alliance, while the extermination-marked magic users of Yoria were actively rescued by the Rhilithians.
In a galactic setting, not refugee groups are necessarily good people fallen on hard times. A refugee group may sometimes be the bad guys fleeing a collapsing empire or overthrown tyranny, the forces of justice and liberation having chased the former overlords out of power. Exilees may be the deported criminal element of a world thrown out into the cosmos to become somebody else’s problem.
The following are some random roll tables for generating Refugee Groups.

Template:
A. Origin:
B. Cause of Displacement
C. Numbers
D. Outside Assistance
E. Preparedness/Organization/Resources
F. Defenses/Military Power
G. (Optional) Alignment

A. Origin:
Where are the refugees coming from?
01-75 % Three Galaxies---This is an internal migration inside the Three Galaxies.
76-90% Extragalactic---The refugees come from outside the Three Galaxies, but within the same universe. Given extragalactic distances, their journeys were likely epic, or facilitated by some advanced means of travel.
91-00% Extradimensional---The refugees hail from another universe.

B. Cause of Displacement:
01-30% Shatterworld----For whatever reason, the refugees’ origin world can no longer support them(roll, if desired, on the Shatterworlds tables). This could be a pandemic, ecological collapse, exploding core, local doomsday war, or other catastrophe that has rendered the planet less hospitable, or outright lethal to its former inhabitants
31-45% Warzone ---The refugees are fleeing the crossfire in some armed conflict. The refugees likely come from several different affected regions, and the conflict could be a regional ‘brush war’ or a larger-scale war. 01-75% Local, 76-00% Major Galactic Conflict(Minion War, Forge War, Golgan Reconquista, etc...+20% on Numbers)
46-55% Conquest----The refugees’ homeworld has already fallen to an oppressive force; rather than submit to their new overlords, people have decided to flee.
56-70% Economics-----Be it a massive downturn in a planet’s global economy or a colonial venture that is failing, there’s not enough money or jobs to go around, and the underprivileged have taken to the road to seek greener pastures. -15% on Organization and Military Power rolls.
71-75% Liberated Slaves----Former slaves who have been rescued, liberated, or managed a mass-escape. -20% on Organization and Military Power rolls, +15% on Outside Assistance.
76-96% Ethnic/Religious/Racial Oppression---The refugees are members of a species, ethnic, or religious group that faces majority pressure and oppression. This can range from legalized discrimination to outright ethnic cleansing/extermination. The refugees may be fleeing of their own accord, or have been exiled by government order.
Variants on this category include exiled criminals, social classes, or overpopulation(too many telephone sanitizers for example) being sent offworld for teh convenience of the rest of the planet.
An extreme case may be a population afflicted with some incurable condition(may be contagious or just unsightly) that cannot be cured or tolerated on the world/culture of origin.
97-00% True Nomads---Not really refugees as much as victims of acute wanderlust, seeking new vistas to explore. Or perhaps they have a religious/spiritual imperative to travel. +40% to Organization and +5% to Military Power rolls

C. Numbers
In general, how many people are on the move?
01-20% Hundreds(3d6x100)
21-75% Thousands(3d6x10,000)
76-96% Millions(4d6 million)
97-00% Billions(1d20 billion)

D. Outside Assistance
Have the refugees received any assistance in their flight? Sometimes sympathetic aliens, outsider organizations, or even deities may offer the desperate a helping hand.
01- % None---The refugees had no outside help in their flight.
% Passing----The refugees have received some assistance and supplies from various passing sympathetic parties; +10 % to Organization/Supplies
-00% Extensive---The refugees were given a great level of uplift assistance in the way of adequate transport, resupplies, and protection. +30% to Organization and +10% to Military Power rolls

E. Preparedness/Organization/Resources
01-20% None---The refugees have managed to get away with only the shirts on their backs, and maybe not even that. They are little more than a fleeing mob, with some small organized groups trying to bring order to the whole. Any ships they have are a mishmash of whatever they could get flying, aren’t optimized for long duration flight, and are likely falling apart. Supplies are borderline, and rationing is reaching the breaking point.
21-60% Poor---The refugees have little in the way of supplies and leadership. They are pretty much living hand to mouth, with little in the way of reserves and spare parts. Their ships are a mix of types, and there is often social division between individual vessels.
61-80% Well-Organized---The refugees have had the time and space to organize systems of leadership, gathering of resources, and distribution of same. Their transports were chosen and prepared with long hard travel in mind, stocked with abundant supplies and equipment. They can produce basic supplies and parts
81-96% Well-Supplied---The refugee fleet is well-organized and almost entirely self-sufficient, with enough supplies to go for years, and onboard recycling and manufacturing capabilities to cover most needs.
97-00% Culture Transplant----The refugees have managed to carry away nearly their entire culture and infrastructure in purpose-built transports, ready to be transplanted to another world to reestablish their culture.

F. Defenses/Military Power
How well-armed are the refugees to deal with the dangers of the wilderness?
01-20% None---Aside from a few personal side arms or asteroid-defense equipment on their ships, these refugees have nothing to defend themselves with.
21-50% Scant---The refugees have a collection of private weapons and some police-security-level weaponry/equipment.
51-75% Well-Armed----The refugees are accompanied by what amounts to a militia-level or national guard arsenal, with one in ten vessels having military armaments mounted.
76-90% Arsenal---Either because the refugees are mainly disaster-preppers or professional military, they are all very well-armed. One in five of their vessels is military-grade and even the civilian ships will mount military-grade weapons, armor, or shields.
91-00% Armed Forces---The refugees are armed for bear, and their assets include multiple warships and war-fighting equipment. These people may be inclined to take resources by force, if need be.

G. (Optional) Alignment
What is the general attitude of the refugees?
01-30% Good---The refugees generally hold to codes of conduct and dignity in obeying galactic laws, even if it rules against them. They will get involved on the side of Good, even of it means taking risks and damage to themselves(such as refugee escort vessels leaving their posts to help chase down pirates or help others in distress).
31-85% Selfish--Not so much greedy as desperate, with the needs of the refugees coming first. Outside politics matter little to them, as long as they can find safety and security. Breaking the law and taking from others is not optimal, but may be an unfortunate necessity. They will generally not get involved in other peoples’ conflicts or pick a side in local politics unless it serves their needs.
86-00%----Either because they were driven from their places of power or because the strain of exile has corrupted them, these people regard the ends justifying the means, and they will readily rob, pillage, and murder to get what they want, even if it is not strictly necessary for their survival. They will side with other forces of Evil, especially if it means resources or opportunity for them.



Notable Refugee Regions/Groups

TransGalactic Empire
The TGE’s expansion zones are notorious for breeding refugee movements. The mass migration of a good portion of the former Wolfen Republic to the CCW is best known, but there are also lesser-known escapes, such as the Tmelain Exodus and the Usulan Dispersal. These refugees are particularly ripe recruiting populations for future FWC fighters.

Thundercloud Galaxy
Not all colonial ventures succeed, and many prospective colonists who threw away their old lives to seek greener pastures find those pastures to be wastelands, their experiences nightmares, and now find themselves with nowhere to return to.

Forge and Minion Wars
These major conflicts have displaced BILLIONS across the Three Galaxies.

Golgan Reconquista---The Kultural Revolution’s efforts to reacquire their old territories have led to a surge in refugees fleeing the conflict zones.

Naruni Enterprises
NE has taken over a number of planets for missed payments; not everybody wants the Naruni as their new overlords. This has led to a number of groups fleeing the NE debt collectors and landlords.

Justicene Exiles
This species claims to be refugees, but from what is uncertain. They are arguably an example of a refugee group that has become a nomadic society.

Dominators---Some would say the Dominators, having lost their world to a black hole weapon, are technically refugees wandering the Three Galaxies. Others would contest this.

Vernulians---Though mentioned as appearing only on Rifts Earth, the same extradimensional travel technology may be allowing small groups of refugees fleeing their police-state homeworld to reach the Three Galaxies(or other universes).

Aliens Unlimited Refugee Races of Note(possible Three Galaxies)
Xenopus----Displaced by Atorian conquest.

Inennsi----Displaced by Atorian conquest.

Cebus---Homeworld destroyed by Atorians.

Maeus----Displaced by Atorian conquest.

Struthios---Homeworld destroyed by technological disaster.

Canis---Psychic population forced into exile by their homeworld.

Arismal---Space travel accident destroyed their homeworld. A few thousand, mostly military, survived.

Manarr----Plague devastated their homeworld; only a few hundred remain, having fled into space.

Danaus----Displaced by Atorian conquest.

Lassinikes---Mystic invasion destroyed their homeworld, leaving some 60,000 survivors.

Bacccarus--Asteroid strike destroyed their homeworld; some 2.5 million survived.

(Yes, the Atorians are notorious for creating refugees)