Forword
Chapter One: Empire Creation

Initial Conception
Magic and Technology
Earth
Galactic Travel
History
Integration with Other Empires
Omnet
The Sentinels
Time
How do I go about making an Empire?
Exceptions

Chapter Two: Submitting an Empire

Getting Approved
Example Submission
Catalogue of Contact
What to do with the extra information

Chapter Three: Other Submissions

Galactipaedia
Hickman Novels
Fiction
RPG Sourcebooks and Modules
Miscellaneous

Chapter Four: IC Events and the EPG
Restrictions
Contacts
Other Sources of Information

Forword

The Starshield Project traces its participant beginnings to late 1996, and since that time, the galaxy as we know it has changed by leaps and bounds. Though the history of the galaxy is shaped by entities such as the Major Empires and Omnet, the true power making Starshield such an attractive force is its uncertain collective of Minor Empires. Strewn about the galaxy and laced with a great deal of creative freedom, the beauty of their being lies in the fact that although vastly different from one another, with their own histories and perspectives and differing realities, they all maintain continuity with the rest of the galaxy. It is this continuity that lends itself well to the makings of the EPG, RPG and other related avenues, giving Starshield a depth that few other projects can emulate.

With the freedom given to create an Empire from one's own imagination, with few limitations available, it's easy to indulge a bit too much in one's own fascinations. Forgetting about the rest of the galaxy, or forgetting that Starshield is not the earth, and certainly not a model based on what we, as real people have come to know, becomes quite common. With the creation of so many new Empires and offshoots, there's a distinctive need for some manual, some guide, for those new to the project to be able to read. It is with these thoughts in mind that this project was begun, first as a simple set of "guidelines" and later as a public guide to Empire creation and continued Submissions.

This guide is currently the official Starshield submission’s guide. Participants are urged to read it through and use it to create and submit one’s Empire for inclusion into the official Ss time stream. All final submissions sent to the Submission’s Department should follow the directions in this guide. Empires created prior to this guide’s release should be discussed with the Director of Submissions, and followed in suit. All registered Starshield participants are to follow this guide and remain aware of any updates.

It's been said before that the best RPG characters are those that are a part of you, those you as a player can relate to. Similarly, a Starshield Empire is best played when you can relate to it, whether it's based on something you find intriguing, or simply enjoy. Though it's always fun to delve into an area that you're new to, this isn't always the best way to set up an Empire you intend to play for most of your involvement in Starshield. Unless you have no gripes about researching a topic that your Empire is involved with, be it a specific form of magic or some scientific abnormality, stick with something you know.

If you’re a fantasy nut, then you may find it easier to create a fantasy-based Empire. If you’re into the whole sci-fi thing, or are well versed in the sciences, a high-tech world may better suit you. Normally, the things you already know about, or are interested in, become a good foundation for the creation of your own Empire. If this is your course of action, be careful not to focus solely on one world/universe that you know well. Reusing element after element of, say, Star Wars, will not only serve to make your Empire unoriginal and bland in comparison to those truly unique, but may also cause your Empire to be rejected by the Submissions Department.

This is not to say that some pre-existing background shouldn’t influence your Empire, however. In fact, many times this can greatly help in envisioning what you want. Be careful though, not to copy too much of whatever you’re using that interests you. While using elements of some fantasy world you read about in a novel is perfectly fine, you’re not permitted to use names and characters that could be obvious to someone fluent in that world’s background. Aside from the legal reasons why this is bad, people familiar with the setting you’re copying will likely spot this uncreative license and look down on you because of it.

Returning to the Star Wars example, it’s perfectly fine to base your Empire on a ruling order at war with a group of rebels. This is still general enough to be over-looked, but when you start including "small, hairy teddy-bears that live in trees and live in a tribal-fashion on a jungle moon," and a "dark magician who uses an extendable ‘light-sword,’" you’re starting to ask for trouble.

On the flip side, you may find it more fun to conceive an Empire that’s really unique, based on some scientific element or specific mystic path that no one’s really gotten into yet. Early on in Starshield, someone brought up the idea of an Empire based on fractals, and built ideas of transportation, energy, etc on top of that. Thinking as general as possible, you should begin fleshing out your Empire on some concept or idea, before you delve into the intricacies of your politics, key figures, or society’s history.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that your Empire is unique, in that it is a participant-run Empire. Many participants, when designing their Empire, become discouraged when they compare their Empire to those already in existence. In most roleplaying games, characters created tend to be more powerful than the norm in that world’s background. That is, characters created by means of the character creation (chargen) rules stand out when compared to normal humans. Similarly, Empires created to be played in Starshield are not an example of the "average" Empire. That’s not to say that you can create super-powerful Empires, but it is something to keep in mind.

When thinking about what kind of Empire one wants to build, it's important to make a distinction between magic and technology. Though both are present in the Starshield Universe, there's a sort of contradiction between the two, and like the yin and yang, they are opposites, yet part of the same. With the limitations of "starting-level" Empires, and looking at the Empires already part of the official Ss mythos, it may be easier to focus on one area (either tech or magic) for your Empire. You can, however, have both of them present, though doing so will present different possibilities. The more extravagant the technology or magic, the more likely other Empires will be able to enter your zone unscathed. The weaker the presence of technology and magic in your Empire, the greater the likelihood that invaders will be unable to call upon their more powerful weapons.

When you submit your Empire, it will go through an assignment phase. Your Empire’s approval will partly be based on how well you achieved balance with other "starting-level" Empires, and partly on the justification you give for your Empire’s attributes.

Since the workings of a paradigm (a given reality) are governed any way you choose, you have to decide exactly how your magic or technology will operate. Given the multitude of mystic paths (song, ritual, theurgy, etc) you're assigned the task of explaining what causes magic to work, be it through powerful gods, complex rituals, etc. Similarly, a technological paradigm must be chosen, whether it’s our own atomic-based reality, or an etheric or particle zone. These choices will define the foundation for your Empire, giving you the tools to build a history.

When at this stage in Empire creation, a dual set of laws should be chosen. That is, decide on how magic works, and on how technology works, but choose only one explanation for each.

By the time you begin to consider what forms of technology and magic will exist in your Empire, you will likely have heard something about the Q-Dex. After asking a few questions, you’ll probably gather that the Q-Dex is difficult to understand. Don’t fret; forget about the Q-Dex altogether, as it won’t be needed to submit your Empire. Instead, think about how the reality in your Empire works, and define it in your own words as best as possible. When doing so, make sure to define the extent of your Empire’s development of its technology and magic, and its potential for continued technological/magical evolution.

One of the initial limitations imposed upon participants is their Empire's relation to earth. For story purposes, earth remains a backwater planet with no sway in galactic politics. To the galaxy at large, earth is an unheard of place, its location and cultures unknown. As such, there shouldn't be any connection between your Empire and earth, from a historical standpoint or any other. This guideline includes the reference to any location on earth, any religion or myth thereof, and so forth. As to using names that sound similar to earth names, don't go overboard.

Nothing in the galaxy is free from change. The only thing that comes close to being able to level through most quantum zones is TFP's, a technology reconstructed from the Kendis-dai Imperium. No drive, spell, etc should come even close to the reliability of a TFP, and outside its home zone, any object will begin to suffer penalties. This is a major facet of the Starshield Universe, and disregarding this is impossible.

While distinct realities are present within quantum zones, the Void represents the inherent lack of reality. Everything that touches the Void for a prolonged period of time will break down, reverting to Void itself. Just as nothing can remain untouched by the effects of leveling, nothing can escape breakdown if left within the Void, including life. Void cannot be pushed or shaped by any technology or magic, so no tunnels, buildings or other structures can exist there, just as no being can live within the Void. Just as with leveling, this rule is absolute, with the only exception being Kendis-dai's artifacts.

If leveling and the Void weren't bad enough, consider that transportation outside one's home zone didn't exist between the Shattering of Suns and the rise of the Omnet. This extra variable suggests that for most Empires, their lives were very solitary, and the only travel they may have come across was within their own zone, or, if they were one of the lucky few, may have come across a couple of zones at most.

Travel, even nowadays, is not something that should be taken lightly. The galactic disk is not only huge, but cluttered with so many different realities. Moving from one point to another is a long and arduous task. Most any Minor Empire will simply not have the resources to purchase the amount of drives necessary to equip a ship, let alone a fleet, capable of crossing the galactic disk. Only slightly less difficult is crossing a number of Sectors, a task underestimated by far too many participants. Even assuming your Empire had the resources to make such a trip, unless they're making enormous amounts of money in trade, they couldn't sponsor many similar trips. Furthermore, such trips are very long, taking many months to go one way. In summary, isolated cruise ships or transport vessels crossing the galactic disk is fine (albeit expensive), though large-scale movements are not. Liken Sector-to-Sector travel with the Age of Exploration on earth. Columbus’ voyage was possible, and so was later travel to California, but both were difficult and costly.

With this in mind, your Empire will likely not be able to come into much physical contact with Empires in far away Sectors, and depending on your Empire's own location, may not even be able to leave its own Sector for some time. So before you get involved with the intricacies of galactic trade and communication, contact participants with Empire's near your own, as these will be the easiest to form alliances with.

As would be expected, Starshield has a vast history going back centuries. While this doesn't have to limit the extent of history in one's own Empire, it should be noted that anything before the Shattering of Suns (collapse of the Kendis-dai Imperium, about 2,500 years ago) should not be included in the Empire's recorded history. Before that time, the majority of the galaxy was part of the Imperium, and when it fell, the galaxy was sent into disarray. For most of the galaxy, it took many hundreds of years to recover from the fall. Until the rise of Omnet, galactic trade and communication was almost unheard of, a remnant of another time.

Most participant Empires should take the Kendis-dai Imperium into account, since most of the galaxy was at one time part of his legacy. For this reason, recorded history in an individual Empire should begin sometime after the Imperium's fall, as the galaxy suddenly became a chaotic patchwork of realities, and likely any technology or magic that worked before suddenly became useless. The Shattering of Suns was not only the fall of a government, but the end of a nearly galaxy-spanning quantum zone. With this in mind, your Empire’s history should not go back any further than the Shattering of Suns, though legends and rumors of an earlier time may be possible.

Assuming that your Empire was not part of the Kendis-dai Imperium, allowing you access to galactic history before the Shattering of Suns would seriously unbalance Starshield in your favor, and as such, is also not allowed. The only history you're allowed to have that reaches back before the Imperium's fall is history regarding your own Empire, assuming you had no contact with the Kendis Imperium, and you have reasons for such. The reason for this is simple: all known history of the galaxy during the Imperium is lost, and allowing your Empire to have such knowledge would unbalance the game.

Make sure to note whether or not your Empire evolved from the Kendis Imperium, and justify your reasons for this. If you don’t have any, and there is no need for your Empire’s history to stretch beyond the Kendis Imperium’s creation, then assume your Empire evolved from the Imperium after the Shattering of Suns.

In a similar way, contact outside of your Empire shouldn't have begun until well after the Omnet was created, as the means for communication and travel were extremely rare. You should assume that your Empire was isolated before Omnet came around. Galactic communication was not reliable before Omnet, and outside of a handful of Empires, isolation was a natural way of existence across the galaxy. This is very important when thinking about your Empire's history, as most of it will have taken place in your own Empire, not outside of it. All newly created Empires are assumed to have only recently achieved a state powerful enough to be introduced into the Greater Galaxy.

Many people simply aren't content with providing an internal history for their Empires, and even before starting current-day negotiations, they want to include other Empires in their history. This, in itself, is fine when discussed with other participants, and can seriously help in the development of an Empire. Yet, once again, things can only go so far.

Creating an historical menace that once plagued the galaxy, or some hidden evil that once roamed through hundreds of Empires, is beginning to stretch it a bit. If enough participants are willing to work with you, this is all fine and well, but simply saying that a menace exists without properly getting it approved (either through the Submissions Department or by other participants) is not allowed.

Integrating one's Empire with that of others is a great step, one that is best achieved before you finalize your Empire. How your Empire came across certain technology, why your people pray to a certain god, and many other important areas can be explained by outside communication. When the basics are finalized and your Empire is well on its feet, then and only then should you go out and begin forming trade agreements and new alliances. Until your Empire is already developed enough to stand on its own, however, this sort of thing should not be touched.

Integrating one’s Empire with other zones is also forbidden. An Empire can gain additional territory in the game, but cannot start out inhabiting more than one quantum zone.

Often overlooked by beginners, Omnet plays an important role in the galaxy today. By participating in public, IC forums, and by contacting Empires outside your sphere of influence (ie your own zone or surrounding zones) you automatically acknowledge the existence of an Omnet Citadel in your region of space. Any Empire that begins to take part in galactic politics or trading of any sort has already been contacted by Omnet, and has received initiation through the First Contact Protocols.

No Empire can continue to communicate with the galaxy without Omnet. Without it, there would be no news or quantum weather updates to your Empire, and absolutely no way to contact Empires far from you.

When it comes down to it, Omnet is the way to go, and whether you allow them to or not, Omnet will send in Vestis agents to learn as much about your Empire as they can. Failure to comply to Omnet's wishes in this regard will likely earn you a bad name in the galaxy, and could even warrant the wrath of the Centirion. Regardless, Omnet’s investigative teams are incredibly competent, with training from multiple zones and possibly the best overall training in the galaxy. Omnet is your gateway to the galaxy, and by shutting them off, you're shutting out the galaxy.

While you can restrict Omnet’s position in your Empire, all submitted Empires are assumed to be in contact with Omnet; everything you use to communicate to other Empires (LS, NG, etc) are assumed to be via Omnet channels.

Obviously, Tracy Hickman has plans for certain parts of the SsU, including the Darkness, earth, the Kendis-dai Imperium and the Sentinels. However cool your ideas for these and other elements may be, you should not include them in your Empire's history. Using these elements as explanations as to why things happened in your Empire is perfectly fine, but altering events or building on them is not, since they could differ from the official explanation that may yet be described.

With a science fiction universe, people will inevitably want to play with that one special facet of existence for some sinister or plot-necessary purpose: Time. The manipulation of time, however, is another thing Ss participants should not touch. Generally speaking, the only time travel that exists in the galaxy is that utilized by TFP's for their information processing. Besides this, there is no known form of time travel, neither hinted at in the novels, or elsewhere. No time travel should exist, even if within your own Empire, since doing so could unbalance the game.

Step 1: Design

After reading this far, you should begin brainstorming what your Empire is about, and consider all the areas of its existence. Once you have some idea of what you want to do, you are urged to contact the Submissions or Information Department with any questions that you may have. Also, watching IC interaction on the ListServe, browsing examples, or reading the various guides in the Information section of this site can be very beneficial. You may even find it helpful to contact individual participants, not only for forming historical ties with their Empires, but to discuss Empire ideas, and perhaps to get some idea of the processes they took with designing their own Empire.

Step 2: Written Conceptualization

Once you’re pretty sure about your Empire, you’re ready to do some writing. You’ll want to consider and write about the subjects below. Remember that this will be how the Submissions Department judges your Empire. You want to give them the idea that the Empire your submitting has been well thought out.

Overview

Briefly give a summary of your Empire, perhaps in a paragraph at most. Once you have a basic idea of what your Empire's is about, it'll be a lot easier creating it.

Reality Overview

An explanation as to how things work in your Empire, specifically how magic and technology operate. Also, get a sense of the stability of your zone’s reality, how many quantum storms you have, how powerful/large they are, etc. If you wish, you can try and work out a Q-Dex for your Empire.

Tech Overview

Explain how the technological side of your reality operates, including how prominent it is, how it works, etc. Depending on the technological paradigm you choose to embrace, you may want to specify major/important elements, energy types, etc.

Magic Overview

Same as Tech Overview, only for magic. Also note any prominent religions your Empire may have.

Size of Empire

Note how many planets, suns, moons, etc in your Empire, and how they are laid out. Remember that new empire's are only allowed one Quantum Zone, and a maximum of 10 planets. If you think that is unfair, and have a valid reason of why you should have more, you can attempt to take it up with Submissions. However, exceptions are not made lightly, so don't be surprised if you're asked sell your soul. :)

Population

Note the population of your Empire, and how it is distributed among your inhabitable areas. Also explain how society functions, what castes there are, etc. List and explain what sentient species inhabit your Empire.

Resources

List your Empire’s chief resources, industries, trades, etc.

History

Give a history of your Empire. Though intricate details are not necessary, explain what major events shaped your Empire, what contact you’ve had with the outside in the past, etc.

Government

Give information about your Empire’s government, how it works, who represents whom, etc.

Military

Give an overview of your Empire’s military might, explaining your Empire’s take galactic affairs, what military branches you have, how big your military is, etc. Once again, you're limited to a fair sized military. We wouldn't want you to go on a rampage for Galactic Domination within the first hour of your arrival!

Other

Include anything else that you feel is necessary to describe your Empire.

Certain individuals have gained the right to make use of plot lines or other elements that this guide suggests are wrong or impossible. Usually, these exceptions were granted in "give and take" situations, and never handed out as requested. Participants that asked for these exceptions were usually individuals present when Starshield first hit the web, when overall development of the SsU began. Though exceptions are still granted now and then, beginners should realize that they are not necessary, and allowing too many people to make use of them starts to redefine the galaxy as a whole. That's why they're exceptions, because Empires that have them are extremely rare.

If you really think you need to make use of something that defies the guidelines in this work, you may do so by contacting the Director of Submissions. Note however, that you should only ask for this sort of privilege if you can give a reasonable explanation for why it's necessary. Claiming that you need it because your Empire won't work without it is not enough. No one needs to have an Empire that doesn't conform to the assumed guidelines; Empires are just as interesting without them. Additionally, you may only utilize an exception in such a way that it does not unbalance the game. If you're looking to make use of an element in an attempt to gain additional power for your Empire, you need not ask, since it will not be granted.

This is an important point to stress, since too many people already ask if they can have historic time travel or galactic portals. The short answer is "no," since you really don't need it. The Starshield Universe has to have its limits, and unless they're clear, Starshield will no longer be Starshield.

In order to get your Empire approved and ready for playing, you have to convince the Submissions Department that you have a well thought out empire, with plenty of information, and that you've followed all the rules.

No, its not as hard as it sounds. All thats required is to send an email to someone in Submissions that contains your name, you email address, the name of your empire, the location of your empire, what kind of a zone you're in (pref. a Q-dex number if you have one worked out), a website address for the future home of your empire (if applicable), and a description of what your empire is about. To make it easier, we have a template that you can fill out. Just keep it short and to the point.

The description has to contain as much information as possible without going too much into detail. Its purpose is to allow the Submissions Department to check if there seem to be any inconsistencies. If your empire is accepted, it'll serve as an Empire description in the Galactipaedia. While the other info that you submitted will count as an entry in the Catalogue of Contact.

For examples you can view the entries in the Catalogue of Contact or Galactipaedia pages.

The Catalogue of Contact basically serves to let other players find empire's withing their vicinity for trade/communication. It also provides a link to your website address, and your email address.

After you've submitted, a short description of your empire will go onto the site to allow other players a keep overview of what your empire is about. If you want to display more information you will be required to either submit further short entries into the Galactipaedia, or create your own website for the really detailed information.

Once you have a finished website, we advise you to connect it to the Ring of Empires, and to ensure the the CofC (Catalogue of Contact) has your website address. You can have a look at other player's websites for an idea of what to do.

If you want to write an article for the ‘paedia, contact the Submissions Department for approval. Most entries will be given an article size limit of 200 words.

As Tracy Hickman's publisher dropped Starshield, there won't be any more books for the time being. So, until we say otherwise, don't bother asking to be included.

Fan fiction is one of the many ways that the SsU grows in detail, and is an important part of the project. However, as with all other submissions, there needs to be some control in what can be written about. For this reason, all official fan fiction needs to be approved by the Submissions Department. All completed stories are then converted to PDF and uploaded in the Mythos Section.

Please contact the Submissions department on this topic as no information is currently available.

Other types of submissions are music, pictues, songs, etc. As with the rest, please send the completed work to the Submissions Department.

The primary purpose of submitting an Empire and becoming a registered participant is to take part in IC (in-character) interaction, where you play out your Empire, its actions, its representatives, etc, on official Starshield forums. This interaction is known as the EPG (Empire Playing Game).

Actions in the EPG are quite freeform, in that they are not based on a limiting game engine. Creativity and co-operation is the key, not fancy graphics or sounds. Right now, there are two levels that the EPG takes place on:

Private E-Mail

Private discussions between Empires can take place via personal e-mail. This is self-explanatory, and mainly used to plan out the IC events that will take place. In this universe there are no surprise attacks, and unexpected events, its all carefully planned out beforehand in order to make an interesting story

Listserve

Subscription information for the listserve can be found here. This is a mailing list; any posts sent to the list will be sent to all subscribers. As this is a public forum, all subscribed "Empires" can view anything posted to this list. Its used to play out the IC events, post netcasts, and tell stories; while at the same time its used to discussions, arguments, and questions.

One of the alluring facets of Starshield is the newscast/netcast, in which participants post news about their Empire. Any news posted should be from an organization relative to one’s Empire, NOT from Omnet or another galactic news agency.

If you want news reported by the Omnet, outside of the main IGNM Netcast, you must register your reporting Vestis with the Submissions Department. In this case, submit a character outline for an Omnet Vestis that you will use for all future newscasts from your region of space. Upon approval, you will be sent a set of guidelines that you will have to follow for all future Omnet posts. You can then make as many posts as you want using that Vestis, as long as the guidelines are followed.

News of your Empire or related IC events that you want added to the latest official IGNM Netcast can be sent to the Netcast Department. Please keep the news as short as possible, while still keeping enough detail for the story to make sense. Submissions of this type need not be written as a news segment; outlines, notes, etc. are all accepted, and will probably be rewritten to fit the rest of the netcast before it is posted.

All submissions for the official IGNM netcasts must be factual. If you’re leaving out information, or reporting false information, that needs to be included in the submission, and explained thoroughly. IGNM Netcasts are well-investigated, and stories are rarely reported without solid evidence.

This is a short summary of what you're not allowed to use in any kind of Submission:

• Using too many elements from pre-existing works.
• References to earth.
• Time alterations.
• Wormholes spanning multiple zones.
• Building onto or changing anything from the Books.

If you need help with anything, if you wish to submit something, or if you just want to give a compliment, you can find all the important email addresses on the Contacts Page

These are just too numerous to list. But most you can find by browsing the Starshield site, or by following the links in the site's links page.