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Other way around, actually. The Wulfen who had to abandon their dreams of galactic conquest and learn to live nicely with other races lost some important parts of their culture.

The Wulfen of Motherhome-in-exile have gone back to their ferocious roots.

And the Wolven enter the scramble for the thundercloud as well..... Im with the Wolven.
Says the Cosmo knight named Gar.

It could always be connected to each of those events if Braden wants to do that. And KS allows the connection.

I'll leave it up creative GM's.

Not all mysteries should be solved.

That is very true. And even if the players think they have solved it, maybe it's just one aspect that they explained. There should always be mystreies in the universe, or should I say Megaverse!

darkmax wrote:CK should not side with them just because they are his old race.... He should stand on the side of the justice.

Define Justice.

Everything is just depending upon your perspective.

Alain wrote:I would like to see some more work extending the Cosmic Forge mythos.

I believe otherwise, and I'll tell you why.

I envision that there is a different, sweeping event going on in each of the Three Galaxies. The Cosmic Forge thing has already been covered in Anvil Galaxy. The Thundercloud has the Scramble....

and the Corkscrew has the Minion War, and the Intruder threat for now.

That way, there is always something big going on no matter where you go, but they are each different, as the galaxies should be.

But, for you Cosmic Forge fans, there are plenty of missionaries going into the Thundercloud to convert the natives to the Church of the Forge...

That makes sense Braden.

Since the boards have been down for a while, here is a little section about Motherhome-in-exile, one of the new power blocs described in the manuscript. It should satisfy some of you for a while...
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History
First settled in 8980 TE by the legendary Prince “Greyaxe” Kasvor, Motherhome-in-exile is an independent Wulfen colony, and is technically the last remaining bastion of the old Wulfen Empire.

Prince Greyaxe was the oldest brother to the Wulfen Emperor, Kelis the Unfortunate. While the Wulfen Republic was still a monarchist Empire, the Prince decided to go off looking for adventure and riches. With him he took thirty thousand loyal men and women, and headed into the then unexplored Thundercloud Galaxy. Instead of touching down on the first place they came to, the Prince’s fleet went around the tip of Oswoe’s Arm, and crossed the mouth of the Hollan Gulf. They chose the fourth world in a seven-planet system as their first landfall, since their scanners showed it to be rich in unusual minerals.

The planet was dubbed New Motherhome, and the flag of the Empire was proudly planted in its soil. However, this world was nothing like its namesake. New Motherhome was small for a terrestrial planet. Because it orbited a blue sub-giant star it was very hot and dry. What water there was on the surface was highly poisonous, requiring a long and difficult filtering process before it could be safely used.

Despite its environmental setbacks, the unusual minerals in the soil made living there worth the while. The silver-colored, glittering metal was everywhere. It was very pretty to look at, but the Imperial scientists quickly learned that it possessed a more useful property. “Fractalum” as they named it, could be pounded into a thin foil that would disrupt targeted photon flow. Simply put, it was laser-resistant. While such materials had existed in the Three Galaxies for centuries, they had always been created artificially; the expense and difficulty of making “glitter armor” was the reason why it was not often seen on the battlefield. With this new discovery though, Prince Greyaxe began to imagine entire legions of silver-plated Wulfen warriors, marching unhindered through the laserfire of their enemies.

Mines were quickly set up all around New Motherhome, and cities soon sprang up around the mines. For a time things went well, but soon the supplies of fresh water began to dwindle as it was being used in the extraction of fractalum. Unwilling to give up his treasure-trove, Prince Greyaxe sent out a fleet of eight Hunter-class ships to find nearby supplies of drinkable water.

The explorers were forced to travel outside of New Motherhome’s system; the heat of the blue star had long ago boiled the ice comets away. They traveled further and further up the Hollan Gulf, periodically probing the edge of the Gaelra Arm. Finally, after a month of searching through dead star systems, they encountered the Oni.

The Wulfen were very impressed with the Oni. Arriving in orbit over Hoshino, they found a highly urbanized and orderly society. They were amazed at the Oni’s level of technology. The Oni geisha, whose skills in the art of entertaining were beyond surpass, were something not found in Wulfen society (Wulfen females are not quiet and delicate, but are respected as fierce warrior-maidens), and the explorers were greatly excited by them. Overall, the cultures of the Wulfen and the Oni were a good match, both being Neo-Medievalist Monarchies. The Wulfen felt right at home. For their part, the Oni, who had been dealing with the “barbaric” Catyr for the past century, were pleased to encounter a “more civilized and understandable people” (even if they found the Wulfen eating habits disgusting).

Trade deals were quickly struck between the Bushi Federation and New Motherhome. The Wulfen agreed to share medical knowledge with the Oni for water, supplies, silks, and porcelain. Later, a technology exchange between the two would give the Oni heavy starships and cloaking, and give the Wulfen advanced space fighters and cybernetics.

Over the next seventeen years, Prince Greyaxe’s people prospered. The New Motherhome fleet grew in size, and began to attack Catyr trading ships as they crossed the Hollan Gulf. This greatly reduced Catyr-Ra’s ability to acquire Oni technologies and goods. Soon, the Wulfen were the preferred trading partners of the Bushi Federation. A small Wulfen starport was even built on Sutsun.

Prince Greyaxe had promised his subjects and supporters that on the twentieth anniversary of their landing, he would send an envoy back to the Corkscrew Galaxy to show the Imperial Court all that they had discovered and built. Unfortunately, they never got the chance. In 8997 TE, the Kreeghor Dominion attacked, and bolstered by the traitorous Dark Tribes, conquered half of all Wulfen space. The Royal Family was soon overthrown and executed by revolutionaries who blamed Emperor Kelis for the defeat The Empire became a Republic, and the Wulfen nobility were no more.

News of these events reached New Motherhome in 8999 TE, shortly before the Prince was due to return. Stunned by the revelation that his tiny planet was all that remained of the once mighty Empire, Greyaxe is said to have drank himself into a stupor, and in a fury, to have broken his famous personal weapon over his knee. When he had sobered up his mood was somber. Before his supporters he announced the loss of the Old Empire, and informed his friends of how they could never go home again. Then he proclaimed himself Emperor of “Motherhome-in-exile”, and promised that Wulfen glory would continue on here under a new sun.

It only has me beggin' for more...

Yeah, it is an excellent new addition to your stuff! I'm looking forward to more!

darkmax wrote:Oni-Wulfen Cooperation?

Not any longer. When the Oni joined the CCW, they became the enemies of the Wulfen (who blame the CCW for the loss of an independant Wulfen state back in the Corkscrew).

A few days before that happened, however, Motherhome-in-exile bought 4000 Katana space fighters, and covered them in refractalum...

Maybe they would fight and maybe not. It'might be more like a cold war sort of thing with the other country sending patrols on the very edge of the others territory.

There probably are skirmishes along the borders. Sort of like the border of South and North Korea. The last time I talk to people stationed there, they were still occassionally shooting at each across the DMZ.

Very true!

Opps Sorry abou the double post. But you know what they say about doubling your fun!

One more update for the hollidays. A bit of a long read, but it will have to suffice. From the History of the Thundercloud:

The Great War – Thundercloud Theatre
In 9314 TE, the Transgalactic Empire, together with the Dark Tribe Wulfen, moved to militarily conquer the remaining half of the Wulfen Republic. Knowing that they would be quickly overrun, the High Council approached the newly founded Human/Noro Alliance for aid. The three groups agreed on joint action to repel the Kreeghor from Wulfen space.

At first the fighting was contained within the borders of the Republic, but it was not long before it spread throughout the entirety of the Three Galaxies. In response to their helping the Loyalist Wulfen, the Transgalactic Empire declared war on both the Noro and the Human Alliance. Kreeghor star ships made several drives deep into Human space, and at one point were within seven light-years of Nor-Gor. As the battle lines were stabilized, each of the two power blocs looked for other avenues to hurt each other, their eyes eventually turning to the lesser populated colony worlds in the Anvil and Thundercloud Galaxies.

Fighting in the Thundercloud was nowhere near as static or bloody as it was elsewhere. It can be broken down into three fronts and several key battles.

Oswoe Campaign
This theater of the Great War is chiefly the story of the Royal Kreeghor, Tronton Qus Nalom. When the war began, the Kreeghor controlled only five planets in Oswoe’s Arm. The capital of this small Dominion was a steaming jungle world called Uskor-Tet, and the Royal Kreeghor who was in charge of it declared that his forces would undertake no action against the nearby allies of the Consortium, the Catyr. For their part, the government of Catyr-Ra agreed likewise to send no troops or ships into Kreeghor space.

This passivity did not sit well with Nalom, who soon killed his commanding officer, assumed control of the Dominion, and set about gathering a space fleet. Like his predecessor, Tronton Nalom knew full well that their starships were limited in number, and that any kind of reinforcement from the Corkscrew was all but impossible. Still, he mustered a fleet of ten Smasher-class cruisers, twenty Berserker-class warships, and three hundred sixty Flying Fangs. The number of Imperial Legionnaires under his command numbered 5,830.

The Kreeghor fleet in its entirety moved into Catyr space. They destroyed the mining outposts on Sigurd, then surged forward and blitzed the fleet yards on Torgeir with nuclear weapons. These initial raids did nothing to knock the Catyr out of the war, but were designed instead to slow down the enemy. Indeed, with the loss of a key source of raw materials and a major construction facility, it was six months before the Catyr could organize an invasion fleet. During that time, Nalom fortified Uskor-Tet, and ordered the construction of thousands of artillery batteries.

In 9315 TE, a force of over five thousand Catyr ships arrived in orbit of Uskor-Tet. They started landing troops in the surrounding jungles, intent on physically securing the capital city. Then the shelling began. Hundreds of carefully hidden surface-to-air missile launchers opened up and wiped out the first wave of landing craft. When the Catyr were finally able to put boots on the ground, they quickly discovered the valley surrounding the capital had been littered with landmines. Heavy and accurate artillery fire from within the city kept the attackers pinned down, while units of Legionnaires moved in to finish off the survivors. After three days of shelling and jungle skirmishes, the Catyr were forced to evacuate back into space. In their rush, they left behind enough weapons and supplies to keep Nalom’s army running for a year.

Uskor-Tet would eventually fall to the Catyr by the close of 9316 TE, but at a horrible cost in lives. Moreover, although the planet was secured, Tronton Nalom and the majority of his fleet managed to fall back into deep space and evade capture.

For the duration of the war, the Catyr would try to chase down the wily Kreeghor commander. He hid within the gravity wells of the ternary star cluster SY-124-616-628, and continued to make quick raids into Catyr-held territory for supplies and carnage. His fleet was eventually whittled down to five cruisers including his command ship.

Gaelra Campaign
Most noted for the Battle of the Nightshade Nebula, this part of the Thundercloud saw direct action between the Transgalactic Empire and the newly-formed Consortium. Originally, the Empire held ten worlds in the Gaelra Arm. Together, the Humans, the Noro, and the Wulfen possessed fifteen. The leadership of the Consortium forces was a three-way split between Grand Admiral Abraham Pearson, Tym Nynran of Noro Fleet Command, and the young Wulfen Alpha, Bisk Hirrlor. The Empire sent a commander directly from Kreehor-Tet: the formidable Tronton Dralth Komtus. Immediately taking the offensive, Komtus decided to obliterate the Wulfen colony of Lisara.

A fleet consisting of forty-two Smasher-class cruisers and nearly one hundred Berserkers made a direct attack on the planet. With over 1500 Flying Fangs to contend with (each of which had been rigged up with two anti-matter cruise missiles) the defender’s picket was overrun. In orbit, the cruisers kept the Wulfen Hunter-class ships occupied, while the Berserkers headed down into the atmosphere. Then, at the last minute, the Wulfen orbital defenses all went dead, which in turn allowed the Kreeghor to unload two thousand torpedoes in a single massed volley. Within minutes, an entire hemisphere of Lisara was transformed into a burning wasteland. The Wulfen Republic lost its only Thundercloud possession, and was effectively out of the war in that galaxy.

As to why the planet’s defenses powered down at the last minute, there are two theories, both of them unproven. One is that the Dark Tribe Wulfen had taught the Kreeghor how to build and deploy seeker viruses; elaborate computer codes that could run amok though an enemy’s computer networks. The other line of thinking is that Lisara had been infiltrated by Dark Tribe Wulfen years previously, and that they sabotaged the satellite array from the ground. Either way, the Wulfen Republic was stunned to have been beaten so swiftly. Their hatred for those Wulfen who served the TGE grew to a frenzy, and revealed itself back in the Corkscrew Galaxy during the forty-year-long Battle of Tango Draconis.

By 9364 TE, the TGE had lost seven of its colonies to the Consortium. In that same year the first of the Executioner-class battleships arrived in the Thundercloud. It was hoped that this new lineage of ships would be an effective counter to the CAF’s Protector-series, and it certainly proved its worth. With fresh supplies of Legionaries and tanks, the Kreeghor launched a new offensive to retake Moreg-Tet, which had been lost five years previously. The siege lasted for two and a half years, but was eventually turned back. The planet stayed under Consortium control, although the loss of life had been horrific; sixty million people, mostly Humans, had been killed in defending a barren ball that was unsuitable for colonization by non-supernatural beings. In the end, the CAF decided to irradiate Moreg-Tet. An estimated 7500 nuclear weapons were unleashed during this process, making it useless to everyone, Human and Kreeghor alike. However, this was neither the first nor the last time that the Consortium would use such destructive and overwhelming force against Imperial possessions.

Sixty years after the fighting first began, the Transgalactic Empire had been almost entirely removed from the Thundercloud Galaxy. Tym Nynran was the only one of the original three Consortium leaders still alive, and he faced a difficult problem. There was one Kreeghor planet left in the Gaelra Arm, and he did not have enough ships left to take it by himself.

Desslyth Front
When the Great War began, the Splugorth Kingdom of Desslyth laid claim to one-quarter of the Thundercloud Galaxy. Its domain stretched from the Annach Gulf to halfway down Oswoe’s Arm. Its population numbered in the trillions. Although the Kingdom had been aware of the Human, Noro, Wulfen, and Kreeghor colonies in the Galera Arm since they were first settled, for some reason it took no action against them.

Then, suddenly, Splugorth minions ravaged the TGE settlements on Chulnusk and Yaseen. Within three weeks, these fairly populated and well defended planets, each in a different star system, fell under the control of Desslyth. No weapons of mass destruction were used, no horrific biological agents were unleashed on the population. Victory had come to them through a confluence of exact planning and perfect execution. It was a very un-Splugorth-like set of events.

The Consortium officials flew into a panic, certain they were next. Yet, following the quick capture of those two Kreeghor systems, the Splugorth minions stopped. For the next six decades, the Consortium waited for the other shoe to drop. Ships and pilots that were badly needed at the Battle Morgeg-Tet were instead kept back behind the lines to defend against a Splugorthian invasion. Yet no Consortium worlds were attacked over the entire two hundred-year long course of the war.

In 9375 TE, the Consortium rallied what ships it had, and prepared to attack the sole remaining Transgalactic possession in the Gaelra Arm. Orash-Tet was the moon of a gas giant, whose atmosphere had frozen into a glacier. The utterly inhospitable surface made it the perfect hiding place for military bases and fleet yards. It boasted a population of four million, mostly Kreeghor. The moon was defended at all times by a fleet of fourteen Berserkers, eight Smashers, and one Executioner battleship. The ships however, were not what the Consortium forces feared, but rather the brutal and costly fighting that would take place as the miles of tunnels under the ice were cleared out, one by one. No one looked forward to street fighting against the Kreeghor.

To make matters worse, Orash-Tet had an higher than average gravity field, so even if the Consortium could put more soldiers on the ground than the Empire already had in place, the G-forces would slow down everyone who wasn’t wearing a suit of powered armor. The CAF estimated that the causality rate in capturing the moon would be as high as 80%. Still, with no available reinforcements coming from the other two galaxies (who were, by this time, busy blasting each other with nuclear and anti-matter weapons, then fighting over the rubble), Tym Nynran felt he had no choice but to invade and hope for the best.

The initial Consortium attack was rebuffed, but a second wave managed to get through. As CAF troopers were descending to the surface in their shuttles, a large number of Splugorth ships arrived in orbit, and also disgorged landing craft. Before the Consortium could react, a message was sent to Nynran. The Kingdom of Desslyth intended to take this moon, he was told, but the minions were under orders not to engage the soldiers of the CAF. Dumbfounded, the Noro commander found that he was being offered aid from the Splugorth.

The Kydians did the majority of the tunnel fighting, for their colossal strength was unimpeded by the moon’s gravity. Human Special Forces, operating in Silverhawk armor, captured key installations and strong points. The moon fell to the combined assault, which marked the first recorded incidence of the Splugorth working collaboratively with anyone. Afterwards, control of Orash-Tet would be split between the two powers, resulting in a very strange political situation.
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Happy holidays everyone! See you at the Open House.

Very nice little battle history Braden!

I agree we would please like to see some more snippets!