DarkStar
DarkStar Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Overview
DarkStar is a game for 2 or 4 players that takes place over a series of rounds. In each round players take turns to draw cards, build and launch missiles, move squadrons, and restore stargates; trying to collect deep-defence codes while fighting and defending against their opponents.
To aid them in this task, each player rules an Imperial House with its own unique technology. Battles will be fought and won by careful positioning of squadrons and clever choice of Tactical Core cards. Capture of key systems will bring into play additional strategies via Imperial Edict cards.
The end of game is triggered by any of these three events—
i. 'Star-drive Flu' pandemic sweeps the Empire;
ii. Spacetime is destabilized by too many missile detonations;
iii. A player collects a set of codes to reactivate the ancient deep-defence grid… under their control.
Whoever is first to capture three colours of deep-defence codes to hold Deep Defences tech at the start of their turn, win.
Components
1 Game board. The rectangular game board represents the DarkStar Empire, divided into quadrangular 'squares'. Squares that have solid frames and icons contain solar systems ('systems'). These provide advantages for players controlling them. In the corners of the board are player Capitol systems, and in the center is Core Capitol.
6 House cards. These define your special advantages. The rules on the House card take precedence when they contradict the rulebook. It is intentional that there are more House cards than players: some will be omitted from each game you play.
25 Imperial Edict cards ('edicts'). Draw and play these cards to take special actions. As with House cards, rules on edicts take precedence over the rulebook.
24 Tactical Core cards ('cores'). These cards are numbered 1-9, which is the amount they add to your Power in battle. They also bear special effects that can alter the outcome.
13 Tech cards. Technological upheavals can be triggered during play—adding to the game rules. Keep track of such events using their Tech cards, which take precedence over the rulebook.
66 Squadrons. Each House starts with 11 squadrons. Once destroyed, they cannot be replaced.
36 Bureaucrats. Use these to mark systems you control.
10 Antimatter missiles (40 'stages'). Place these when you build missiles on systems you own; and then to track them after launch.
20 Antimatter-burn markers. Place these to mark the site of missile detonations.
18 Stargate ends (9 pairs). Use these to bridge squares, making them adjacent.
13 Deep-defence codes (6 pairs and 1 unique). You win by capturing these counters.
1 Reserves zone. Put spare game pieces here to draw from during play, and return them when instructed.
1 Scrap zone. Pieces that cannot re-enter play are put in the scrap zone. These include destroyed squadrons, bureaucrats, and deep-defence codes, and any 'sacrificed' cards or pieces.
1 Six-sided dice (a 'd6'). Used during setup, and then afterwards in conjunction with the Decimate core effect and the Empress' Hurricane squadron ability.
6 Help cards. These cards provide a reminder of the turn sequence and board icons, and précis squadron abilities for reference during play. Unlike other kinds of cards, text on Help cards is subordinate to text in the rulebook.
Components limit play. The game pieces provided place a material limit on play. If you run out of pieces, you cannot gain the things they represent. Some pieces can become re-available over the course of the game, but do not store up or retroactively take anything missed out on while they were short.
Setup, 4-Player Rules
A. Place the game board at the center of the table. Shuffle the edict and core decks and place them face down nearby. Discards are placed face up next to them during play, and are free for examination at any time. If there are no cards left when you need to draw one, shuffle the discards to make a new deck.
B. Place the tech deck face-up near the board. Cards in that deck are free for examination at any time.
C. Everyone rolls a six-sided dice (roll again for tie-breakers). Starting with whoever rolled highest, take turns to pick House cards—collecting the 11 squadrons, 2 deep-defence codes, and 6 bureaucrats matching your colour. Once you have picked—
Choose a corner of the game board nearest your seating;
Place your Flagship and an Assault squadron on your chosen Capitol system; and then place on each of the triangle, square, and circle systems nearest that Capitol, an Interceptor, a Recon, and an Artillery squadron (i.e. three squadrons per system). You own those systems on which you have squadrons, so place your bureaucrats onto your House card for later use.
D. After setting up your squadrons, put one of your deep-defence codes on your triangle system, and the other on your circle system. Ensure the black (immovable) deep-defence code is on Core Capitol, located at the center of the game board.
E. Next deal 2 Tactical Core cards face-down to each player. You may look at your cores.
F. Now deal 1 Imperial Edict card face-down to each player. You may look at your edict card. Core and edict cards comprise your 'hand'. There is no limit on hand size. You must show other players how many edicts and how many cores you have whenever they ask—let them see the backs of the cards—but you must not reveal those cards until they are played.
Sequence of Play
Starting with the player who had last choice of House card, players take turns in a clockwise direction.
Each player's turn is broken down into five phases, which must be performed in sequence. Other players can occasionally do things in your turn: phases cannot be skipped even when you have nothing to do in them.
- Draw—you automatically win if you hold Deep Defences; otherwise draw an edict card per Edict system you own;
- Missiles— move, launch, and detonate missiles;
- Movement—move one Stack of your squadrons; OR draw one core card;
- Tactics—choose and resolve battles;
- Restoration—you may use edicts to build missiles and/or stargates.
Should you have no squadrons at the end of any phase, you must concede (see page 11). [Editor's note: the printed book cites page 11, but the concession rule is printed under Ending the Game, on page 12.]
Phase 1—Draw
On your turn you must draw a number of edict cards equal to the number of Edict systems you own. Do this as a single draw with no intervening actions.
Phase 2—Missiles
In your missiles phase you must move all of your launched missiles and then you may launch any or all missiles you built on previous turns. Missiles cannot be built in this phase—that happens later in your turn.
In this phase, you must move every one of your launched missiles one square, if possible. Take away a stage from it as you move it. No matter how many stages a missile has it can only move one square per turn.
To launch a missile take away one of its stages and move it into a square adjacent to the system you built it on. That's as far as it can go in the turn it is launched.
Immediately after moving or launching, a missile may be detonated on the square it reached. If you want to detonate a missile you must do it now. Any missiles that run out of stages may be detonated, or you may remove them from the board without detonating. Put removed missile pieces back into reserves.
Missile detonations destroy everything in the square, and then make that square unusable for the rest of the game. When a missile detonates—
i. Return that missile and all other missiles (launched or not) in the square to reserves;
ii. Put any bureaucrat there in the scrap pile;
iii. Send all squadrons in the square to the scrap pile;
iv. If one end of a stargate was in the square: the stargate collapses and both ends are put back into reserves.
After removing everything from the square, place an AM-burn marker there. Other game pieces cannot move or be placed into squares containing AM-burn markers.
Phase 3—Movement
In this phase you must do one of two things—
A. Move any one Stack of your squadrons; OR
B. Draw one core card.
Moving Squadrons
One Stack of squadrons means any or all of your squadrons located in the same square on the game board. There's no limit on how many squadrons can be in a Stack, and even a squadron by itself is still called a 'Stack' for game purposes. Players are allowed to look at Stacks belonging to others, for example to count up how powerful they are or check what abilities they have.
You may move a Stack up to as many squares as the lowest Movement Value found among its moving squadrons.
You don't have to move all of your squadrons from the square: if desired, some can be moved and not others. If multiple squadrons are selected to move, all selected squadrons must end movement in the same square: Stacks cannot pick up or drop off squadrons during movement.
Moving Stacks can enter and pass through squares owned or occupied by other players unless they are 'pinned' by uncloaked Guard squadrons.
Movement through Stargates
Stargates always have two ends and the squares those ends are in become adjacent. You can move a Stack of your squadrons directly between them even if that means jumping across the entire board.
Carrying Defence Codes
Squadrons at rest—at the start of the game, or after moves or fights—automatically pick up unattended defence codes in squares they occupy. You own any codes your squadrons are carrying.
Stacks can carry codes with them when they move. A Stack that is carrying codes may drop any or all of them off prior to, but not during, movement. Squadrons drop defence codes whenever they cloak, lose a fight, or are removed from the board.
If a Stack splits to allow some squadrons to move while others stay behind, its owner freely allocates any codes that it is carrying between the Stacks thus created. When Stacks merge, codes become carried by the merged unit.
Squadrons cannot pick up the immovable code on Core Capitol, but they can carry any number of other codes.
Phase 4—Tactics
Battles are triggered in this phase, in each square where players have uncloaked squadrons in contact with those of an opponent. All uncloaked squadrons in such squares must fight.
Where more than 2 players are involved, resolve the conflict as a series of 1-on-1 fights. When there are multiple fights to resolve, in one or more squares, the player whose turn it is freely chooses the order in which they are fought.
The 'attacker' is the player whose turn it is, or where they are not involved the nearest player to them counting anti-clockwise around the board.
If there is a fight to resolve, exit the Tactics phase to play through the following sub-phases in sequence. If not, take any desired actions and then go on to next phase.
A. Play Cores
Each player in the fight may choose a core from their hand and place it face-down in front of them. If you can't or don't wish to play a core you must tell your opponent before they choose theirs: they can still play one.
The face-down core cards are simultaneously revealed.
Core cards often trump others, negating them. This is called 'countering' an opponent's core. Countered core cards are discarded now, and thus have no effect on the fight.
A core card can be of one of three types—Lightning, Darkness, or Entropy. Type is shown in the big circle at the top-left corner of the card. The type of card countered by each core is shown in the small circle directly below.
B. Determine Winner
The players involved compare their total Power values in the square to determine the winner.
Illustrated is an artillery squadron. On the left-hand side, the orange value at the top is the Power value and the tan value at the bottom is the Movement. The artillery squadron has the 'Ranged' squadron ability and the numbers on the right relate to that ability. (Each ability a squadron has is denoted by a printed symbol. On this 'Ranged' squadron, the orange '3' on the right is its projectile Power while the tan '4' is the exact distance away in squares that it can contribute that power.)
To calculate your total Power, sum the Power values of all your squadrons in the square. You may count your Ranged squadrons in other squares into the fight, even through stargates, so long as they are at their exact range. See 'Squadron Abilities' for details. Squadrons are not exhausted by battle: if it arises, their Power may count into multiple fights per turn.
When you calculate total Power, if your core was not discarded you may apply its effects, if relevant, and add its Power to your sum. Core effects are described on the card.
Whoever has highest total Power wins; draws go to the attacker.
Losing players must immediately relinquish control of any defence codes in their Stack by dropping them into the battle square.
C. Remove Losses
If the losing player's core was not discarded they may apply its effects, if relevant.
After implementing such effects, send any of the losing player's participating squadrons that remain in the battle square to the scrap pile. Uncountered cores are returned to owner's hands. A core can be played in multiple fights per turn, so long as it goes uncountered.
Destroyed squadrons (those in the scrap pile) do not come back into play.
After resolving the fight, start a new Tactics phase to check if there are any more fights to resolve or cards to play.
Illustrated is a fight between Imperial Commissioner and Imperial High Lightning (the attacker).
The two choose and reveal cores. IHL's Lightning core is countered by IC's Entropy, so it is discarded.
Next they sum Power. IHL's Artillery is out of position—the battle is nearer than its Range so it cannot be counted. IHL has 4+3=7 total Power.
IC's Artillery is at its exact Range and so it will contribute its projectile Power of 3 to the battle, yielding 3+3+1=7 total Power. It is a draw, so the attacker—Imperial High Lightning—wins.
The Decimate ability of IC's core triggers, and IC rolls 4 against IHL's Interceptor and 5 against IHL's Recon. IHL's Interceptor accompanies IC's Recon to the scrap pile, leaving IHL's Recon in possession of the square. IC takes their uncountered core back into their hand; and then IHL starts a new Tactics phase.
Phase 5—Restoration
In this phase you may restore stargates and/or build missiles: you may perform these actions more than once if the conditions are met.
Restoring Stargates
Stargates are placed using Restoration edicts, which may be played only if you control a Gate system.
To place a stargate, take both ends from reserves (two counters with the same symbol) and put them on any two squares. You need not own or occupy those squares. You cannot put both ends of a stargate in the same square.
Squares containing matching stargate counters are adjacent. Squadrons and missiles may move between them in the same manner as they move between any other adjacent squares.
Players do not exclusively control stargates: once they are placed any player can use them.
Building Missiles
Missiles are built using Antimatter Research edicts, which may be played only if you control Antimatter systems.
You can build only one un-launched missile per system—up to a maximum of four stages. Once a missile is launched, you can use future Antimatter Research edicts to build a replacement.
When building new stages, you can place them on any system or systems you own—divided as you like. You may create new missiles or you may add them to un-launched missiles you already own—up to the four stage limit.
For example, if you have three stages to place you can build them all on one system, or one on each of three systems, or add them to existing missiles. Your only restriction is one missile per system, four stages per missile.
Squadron Abilities
Squadrons can have one or more ability. For example before they are flipped, Recon squadrons have both the Cloaking and the Recon ability.
Assault. Assault squadrons do not trigger Guard reactive moves. Your Assault squadrons become stronger during your turn, as denoted on the right-hand side of their squadron counter. A typical such squadron has Power of 5 in your turn, and 2 in that of other players.
Cloaking. Whenever your Cloaking squadrons come into contact with another player's (i.e. occupy the same square), they may cloak. You may have some cloak while others remain uncloaked.
While cloaked they don't count for ownership or occupation and they don't join in battles, even from range. Battles are not triggered with them. Cloaked squadrons are pinned by Guard squadrons, but cloaked Guard squadrons do not pin. Cloaked squadrons drop and cannot carry defence codes.
Cloaked squadrons uncloak when they cease to be co-located with another player's squadrons. You may uncloak them in your Tactics phase.
Guard. Squadrons cannot leave squares occupied by uncloaked Guard squadrons belonging to another player: they are 'pinned'.
Whenever a squadron belonging to another player enters a square adjacent to an uncloaked Guard squadron during any Movement or Tactics phase, the Guard squadron may react by moving into that square: pinning the moving stack. A Guard squadron can make multiple reactive moves per turn, but being pinned prevents reactive moves.
Hurricane (Empress' Hurricane only). In any Tactics phase you may sacrifice a Hurricane squadron of yours by removing it from a square and sending it to the scrap pile. If you do, roll a d6 against each other squadron in that square. Designate each one in turn and roll once for it. If your roll against a squadron comes up equal to or less than the Power of your sacrifice, send it to the scrap pile. Don't count projectile Power in this process.
You may sacrifice more than one of your Hurricane squadrons per turn, but they are sequential not simultaneous. Resolve the first completely before deciding about the next, and so on.
Ranged. Ranged squadrons are marked with a 'projectile' Power and Range, e.g. 3/4. The first number is the Power, the second the Range. They may contribute their projectile Power into squares at the exact distance of their Range: neither nearer nor farther. They also have a standard Power value for fights in the square they occupy, e.g. 0.
To determine if a square is at the correct distance—
A. Start by declaring if you will count any stargates, or count only through normal space; counting stargates is optional, and you may count through some stargates and not others;
B. Count the range along the shortest possible path through the stargates, or through normal space, per your declaration; do not count any square more than once;
C. You cannot count extra squares on an indirect path to get the range you want; but counting through stargates can yield a longer path than had you counted through normal space, and vice versa;
D. Your path cannot count through AM-burn squares: it must go around them.
If the shortest path reaches a square exactly, then you may count the squadron's projectile Power into battles in that square.
The Entropy and Darkness core effects don't apply to squadrons that are contributing projectile Power to a fight in a square they do not occupy, and such squadrons are not sent to the scrap pile if they are on the losing side.
Recon. In your Movement phase you may flip a Recon squadron of yours that is not already flipped. If you do, move that squadron. This is in addition to normal Movement, and can come before or after it in the phase. Make sure that at the start of the game your Recon squadrons are placed with the Recon symbol showing. Flip them over when they take their free move.
You may flip more than one of your Recon squadrons per turn, but they are sequential not simultaneous. Resolve the first completely before deciding about the next, and so on.
Vulture (Imperial Commissioner only). You may put any of your Vulture squadrons that would be sent to the scrap pile in the Remove Losses sub-phase (including due to core effects) onto your House card.
In your Movement phase, instead of moving a Stack of your squadrons or drawing a Tactical Core, you may take a Vulture squadron from your House card and put it onto a capitol system you own.
Systems and Ownership
Key systems are marked on the board with icons indicating the resources they offer—see a Help card for details.
Capitol, triangle, square, and circle systems are so denoted to help you set up. Losing your Capitol does not mean you lose the game.
Core Capitol system lets you take the Core Control tech card and contains an immovable deep-defence code that counts as one colour for victory. It is also a 'Core' system for use with Activate Core cards.
Whoever owns a system owns any unattended deep-defence codes there, and only they can benefit from its resources. They also control any un-launched missile there.
Ownership is instant and automatic: it changes or is maintained as follows—
A. You own the systems your squadrons occupy at the start of the game;
B. Should your squadrons depart a system you own leaving it empty (including 'departing' by being destroyed), you may place one of your bureaucrats there to retain ownership; if you do not, you immediately relinquish ownership; should you run out of bureaucrats you may redeploy them from other systems, abandoning ownership of those left empty;
C. You capture any system your squadrons solely occupy after moves or fights; should your squadrons capture a system containing a bureaucrat, return that bureaucrat to its owner's House card.
Ownership only applies to systems: you cannot own squares that are empty or suffering AM-burn.
Edicts and Actions
Each game action must be resolved fully before going on to the next. No one can interrupt an action once it is started, or do anything except things demanded by the action.
Playing Edict Cards
You may play an edict only in the phase(s) lit up on the card, but you can play multiple edicts per phase. Some edicts can be played only during your turn, while others can be played during anyone's turn. When you play an edict, things happen in a strict sequence—
A. Reveal the edict to the other players and show that it can be validly played, checking the phase and system resource requirements; if the play isn't valid, put the card back in your hand;
B. Implement the edict's effects; note that the edict card itself is not yet in the discard pile;
C. Having implemented all the effects detailed on the edict, put the card in the discard pile.
Illustrated are two possible timings for playing an edict. On the left (lit green icon) is an edict such as Support that can be played in any player's tactics phase. On the right (lit orange icon) is an edict such as Activate Core that can only be played in your own tactics phase.
Voluntary Actions
Whenever multiple players wish to act in a phase, the player whose turn it is has the first chance to act. The chance to act then goes clockwise around the table until (A) all players at the table have passed in sequence and without interruption, or (B) one player has completed their set of actions and everyone else has passed after that set of actions.
When it is your chance to act you may take as many valid actions as you like, or you may pass. Whichever you choose, should anyone act after you, you will have another chance to act.
Involuntary Actions
In each phase of the game, the player whose turn it is must allow other players a chance to act—following the rules above—before and after doing things mandated by the rules, such as moving a Stack, drawing a card, choosing a fight to resolve, or going on to the next phase.
'You May'
'You may' means that you can if you wish, or not if you don't wish. Failing to exercise a choice is the same as deciding not to do it.
Tech Cards
Tech cards are supplemental advantages you can get through play. For example, you get the Star Drives tech card by playing a Star Drive Flu edict. Typically a tech card will tell you when to take it, what it does, and when to relinquish it. Refer to the cards for details. Note that if a card reads 'you may take' then you can decline to take it; otherwise you must take it.
Once you acquire a tech card you must keep it face-up in front of you so that other players can see it.
You cannot take a tech card directly from another player unless something made them relinquish it first. For example, the Core Control tech is relinquished when you lose control of Core Capitol. Some tech cards are never relinquished.
While there may be multiple copies of a tech card, each player can hold only one.
Binding Deals
Whenever you have the chance to act, you may offer a binding deal to another player. To do so—
A. Choose one other player and state your terms out loud, so that all players hear.
B. Offer that chosen player one or more bureaucrats, taken from your House card. (You can't offer a deal if you have no bureaucrats available.)
C. They can refuse the deal. If they accept, place your bureaucrats on their House card: the deal then commences. Both players are bound by its terms.
D. At the end of each of your chosen player's turns, they must return one of your bureaucrats. The binding deal ends when none of your bureaucrats remain on their House card.
You cannot offer further deals to a player who has your bureaucrats on their House card, but you may accept deals they offer you.
Deals can't break the rules, for example by transferring game pieces, revealing edicts or cores (other than as called for through play), ceding systems, or sharing victory.
Ending the Game
The game will end in one of three outcomes:
- Victory for the Outsiders
- Apocalypse
- Victory for one of the Imperial Houses
Victory for the Outsiders
Star Drive Flu infects the Imperial Houses! When all Houses have Star Drives a Pandemic is triggered, ending the game. The Outsiders win: all Imperial Houses lose.
Apocalypse
Should burning antimatter foam reach a critical mass due to reckless use of missiles, that will be fatal for everything made of normal (negative electron charge) matter.
Should a missile detonate when there is no Antimatter-burn marker left to place for it, take the Apocalypse tech; signalling 'Game Over'—everybody loses.
Victory for an Imperial House
Players should aim for this outcome, which is achieved by collecting three colours of deep-defence codes.
When you have three defence code colours, take a Deep Defences tech card. If you hold a Deep Defences tech card in your Draw phase, you win.
Typically you will need to hold onto Deep Defences for a whole round before winning, giving other players a chance to wrest your defence codes off you.
If they fail to do so, you've won!
Concession
Should you have no squadrons left at the end of any phase, you must concede.
To concede, detonate or remove any missiles you have in flight and discard your hand; if it is your turn, end your turn. Your bureaucrats remain on systems until they are removed by the moves of other players.
You take no further part in the game, and won't count for anything that considers the number of players.
Alliances, 2-Player Rules
Instead of the unravelling Empire splitting into many bickering factions, early missile strikes could have polarised it into two camps. That possibility is represented in Alliances, the 2-player game variant.
Players will choose and play two Imperial Houses each, combining their advantages.
2-player setup
Players face one another across the long axis of the board. Place an AM-Burn marker on the left-hand Capitol system on one side, and on the right-hand (i.e. facing) Capitol on the other.
Next Imperial Houses are chosen, limited to allying an administrative House with a martial House.
Houses with the quill symbol are administrative;
Houses with crossed swords are martial.
So for example, The Empress can be allied with House Coil, but not with Tactical Oracle.
To choose, step C. of Setup is modified as follows—whoever rolled highest will be first player. First player takes a House card, their opponent takes two House cards, and then first player takes a second House card.
After choosing, take the bureaucrats and defence codes belonging to your administrative House, and one of the codes belonging to your martial House. Place the following 16 squadrons on your half of the board. From your martial House—on your remaining Capitol place the Flagship and an Assault; and on the nearest square system, and each of your two circle systems, place an Interceptor, a Recon, and an Artillery. From your administrative House—on the other square system, place an Interceptor, a Recon, and an Artillery; and on the triangle system near that, place an Interceptor and a Recon.
Step D. of Setup is also modified, as follows—each player puts a defence code on their triangle system and on each of their circle systems. You are free to decide which colour of your codes you put where. As usual, put the black (immovable) deep-defence code on Core Capitol, located at the center of the game board.
In step E. deal players 3 Tactical Cores each. Step F. is unmodified.
Notice the Sanctions tech, which is immediately relevant in an Alliances game.
2-player play
Turns alternate, starting with first player. An alliance operates as one house. So in each of your turns you may move the squadrons and use the powers of either or both houses.
Systems are owned mutually. Allied squadrons do not trigger fights with one another and can stack and use projectile power cooperatively. Squadron abilities still only apply to those squadrons printed with them.
For example, an alliance containing The Empress can only draw edicts from the discard pile, while one containing Imperial High Lightning discards any Support edicts that they play; an alliance containing Hurricane does not bestow the Hurricane squadron ability on any additional squadrons.
Questions and Answers
Q: Can I discard any of my cards (edict, core, tech) whenever I want?
A: No. Cards can only be discarded through the course of play.
Q. Can I choose to not capture a system, e.g. can I leave someone else's bureaucrat there?
A. No. System capture is automatic.
Q. Can players agree not to fight if their uncloaked squadrons are in the same square?
A. No. A fight can be avoided only by cloaking or somehow leaving the square.
Q. Can my Cloaking squadrons cloak during anyone's turn?
A. Yes, but only at the moment they make contact with another player's squadrons.
Q. Do Guard squadrons pin opponent's stacks that pass through their square, if they didn't start or intend to stop there?
A. Yes. Pinning applies whenever your squadrons make contact with an opponent's Guard squadrons—even mid-move.
Q. Can my squadrons leave a square next turn, after being pinned by another player's Guard squadrons this turn?
A. No. Not while those Guard squadrons are still there.
Q. Can projectile Power be used to start fights in squares it ranges into, but that the squadrons do not physically occupy?
A. No. Fights must be triggered by physical co-location.
A Glossary of the Epoch
Antimatter Burn—in the wake of a missile detonation space foams with spontaneous antimatter particles.
Antimatter Missiles—these interstellar 'nukes' set the tone of the DarkStar epoch.
Apocalypse—there is a tiny chance that foaming space will propagate antimatter wildly, destroying the known Universe.
Artillery—these mighty pieces of interstellar ordnance shape Imperial tactics. Difficulties in calibrating interstellar fire against relativistic frames of reference mean that their range is fixed: they can only project fire at full range—never shorter.
Core Capitol—at the heart of the Empire, the neutral Core Capitol system contains both the oracular 'Core AI', and a unique immovable defence code. Whoever captures Core Capitol will seize these advantages.
Deep Defences—Imperial installations that protect worlds from space-launched attacks; currently deactivated. A critical function is to prevent missile detonations in inhabited solar systems.
Deep-defence Codes—the keys needed to activate deep-defences; currently broken up between the Imperial Houses.
Empire—a star-spanning polity jointly ruled by the Core AI and the Empress.
House Technology—the proprietary advantages of a House.
Imperial Edicts—orders under the seal of the Empress with the weight of the Empire behind them.
Imperial Houses—dynasties operating within a framework of agreements intended to avoid mutual destruction.
Outsiders—aliens whose paths passed through the Empire, disrupting the stargate grid. Outsider star-drive engine fields bleach filaments in the stargate corals; poisoning them.
Pandemic—an insidious strategy of the Outsiders that if successful, will mean they alone control the future of the Empire.
Squadron—a unit of irreplaceable fighting spacecraft surviving from the Empire's golden age. Empire fighting spacecraft are piloted by AI clusters under House command. Squadrons typically comprise 12-24 such craft that, in combination, give them their characteristics.
Star-drive Flu—an illness that, once recovered from, leaves victims with the knowledge of how to construct Outsider star-drive engines.
Stargates—the Empire is bound together by sentient coral formations that sustain the wormhole grid; now mostly offline.
Tactical Cores—canned tactical patterns that synchronise the actions of fighting spacecraft; necessitated by the extreme swiftness of Imperial space-warping weaponry.
Techs—major technological or cultural innovations, that are sometimes undesirable.