Arcanum World Guide

A description of the systems, planets and places that are well known in the game world. Will also include places the players go..

Some (in)Frequently Asked Questions

What is the level of space exploration?
There are a few systems charted (detailed below). There are persistent rumours that there are Gate's we haven't found, and paths through the gates we have to systems we haven't. No new gates have been discovered in twenty years or so, as far as anyone knows.
What is the density of space inhabitation?

Until recently, it was all dictated by economics. If a system had something of worth, whether a naturally inhabitable planet, a mineral rich asteroid belt, or a good defensive location, they became inhabited. There were a few that seemed to be inhabited despite the shortcomings, sometimes by people seeking the pioneer spirit, sometimes by fringe cults, sometimes for no obvious reason, or the military. The recent wars have shaken that all up, though - people have fled to all corners, and the war has scattered people all over the known systems. The broken coalition forces scattered, the people going deeper into the rim, those that could not live under Imperium rule.

Lunar and self-sustaining systems are common place, mainly as way-stations. Mostly government run, there are still independent ports of call - homes away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Imperium and coalition wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. They can be dangerous places, but are often the last refuge for independent ships and traders, in the increasinly regimented Imperium.

Hydroponics have come on in leaps and bounds in the last fifteen years, allowing, with the advancement in genetics, plants to be grown that greatly supplement the CO2 scrubbers and recyclers of the life support systems, as well as providing a viable ecosystem.

Teraforming is very, very profitable, but hardly proven. There have been only two planets fully terraformed in the last fifty years, the last one only in the last few years, with heavy Imperium involvement. Nu earth and Yuan Dan (Spring Dawn) are still untamed wildernesses, ripe with promise to the new settler. Or so the brochures say, anyway.

What's all this about the Gates?
Mankind discovered the first Gate when they got beyond Mars, and after exploring where it led to, managed to learn enough of the principles to create their own Gates, and Gate Drive ships. If anyone knows where the Gates come from, they're not telling. Even today,ship construction is very expensive, and Gate Drives very hard to come by, with the Imperium shipyards (even before it became the Imperium) the only place to source them.
How fast does is message traffic speeds?
Messages travel at the speed of light. Since most Gates are long, long ways from each other, there are relays setup to re-broadcast particular transmissions (commercial, military, diplomatic and distress) at each Gate. When a Gate is used, the stored messages are "squirted" down the Gate, and relayed at the other end. Hence, it can take some time for messages to make their way back, and many ships exchange "mail" with each other so that it gets delivered more quickly at their destination. Some messages can take three or four such "hops".
What is the most common language?
Chinese is the colloquial language of both the Imperium and the Coalition, as much as the Imperium would like to standardise on english. Most people, like on the continent today, speak both languages (plus their own, if applicable!), with varying skill and reluctance.

System Guide

On avarage, it takes about nine hours to travel between a planet and a Gate. The fact that this is pretty uniform is extremely convenient. At the last check, there were just over a thousand different conspiracy theories as to why this might be....
This doesn't mean, however, that all travel takes 18 hours, as many space habitats, stations and asteroids are build further ot nearer to the Gate as their owner (or the Imperium, more recently) decreed.

Sol

Aka Earth, and the seat of the Imperium.

Scylla

One of the Core Worlds, most of the Imperium's Traffic passes through it.

Charibdes

One of the Core Worlds, most of the Imperium's Traffic passes through it.

Yuan Dan (Spring Dawn)

Recently terraformed. Still an untamed wildernesses, ripe with promise to the new settler. Or so the brochures say, anyway.

Nu Earth

Recently terraformed. still untamed wildernesses, ripe with promise to the new settler. Or so the brochures say, anyway. Completed recently with heavy imperium involvement. Lots of investment in infrastructure and manufacturing.

Corridor

A systemâ with a no star, and no planets, just a vast array of belts, meteors and asteroids. Many people reckon there are Gates as yet undiscovered. Other people lump them in with the conspiracy theroists who discuss ithe conveniency of Gate placement.

We came all that way for this?

A barely habitably desert world, with ancient, huge termite mounds. Built by Colony Ship, sent out before the Gates were discovered. The third gate discovered in Coridoor lead to it.

Alpha/Beta/Gamma Colonies

Imperium colonies.

Hope

Barely scratching a living kind of colonised world. Scragglers and misfits. Revolution against the Imperium started here.

Noir-2,

An orbiting station on the 2nd LeGrange point around an otherwise uninhabitable world. Stopoff point.

Space Stations

Chorollis Station Aka Doughnut - Corridoor

, Built around the concept of a ring, spinning to provide its own gravity. The first such station constructed, it was named after the force it uses to provide gravity, it is now showing its age. Its too much a hub for commerce to be abandoned, however, so the dedicated team continue to patch and make do.

Bogart - Hope

Hollowed out astroid in the mining system of Hope. It provides a stopping point, and a much needed place for miners and travelers to unwind and lose "Cabin fever". Little else there but belters. It takes 18 hours to get to Bogart, since it was purposely built off the beaten track, as it were..

Cultural Notes

Food and Overhead

Food and basic survival may be priced from the following information:

Basic Cuisine on a Daily Basis: Food is available in a variety of forms and qualities. Prices reflect costs per person. Restaurant meals of ordinary quality cost Cr10 per day. Excellent quality meals range in price from Cr20 to Cr50 per person. Travellers' Aid Society facilities provide excellent quality meals to members and guests for Cr20.

Food purchased from vendors for preparation at home costs about Cr5 per day and weighs about 1 kg.

Preserved foods for rations on expeditions may be canned or packaged (Cr20 per day, weighs 500 grams) or dehydrated (Cr25per day, weighs 200 grams, and is dependent on locally supplied water).

Subsistence on a Long Term Basis: When time must pass quickly, the referee can allow personal survival or subsistence costs at the following values.

Starvation Level: bare minimum of food, Cr60 per month; dismal lodging, Cr60 per month.

Subsistence Level: reasonable food, Cr120 per month; acceptable lodging, Cr180 per month.

Ordinary Level: good food, Cr200 per month; good lodging, Cr200 per month.

High Living: excellent food, Cr600 per month; excellent accommodations, Cr300 per month.

Starships:
Passengers and crewmembers have their food and lodging provided, with costs covered by the life support costs necessary for operation of the ship.



Mandarin (or How to swear in Chinese)

The following words and phrases were used in the Firefly TV series and have been translated many of them are profane, and rather insulting, you were warned.

Ta ma duh! "Fuck me blind!"
BEE-jway. "Shut up."
Shr ah. "Affirmative."
(Joo ta ma ya ming). Joo-yee. "Watch your back."
Ai ya! Hwai leh! "Shit on my head!"
Nee ta ma duh. Tyen-shia suo-yo duh run doh gai si. "Fuck everyone in the universe to death."
kwong-chee duh "nuts ,"meaning crazy
Hwoon dahn! "Bastardâ"
tset ha tset ha
(adv.) + stupid fool! 'tset' is the penis. 'tset ha tset ha' is to describe a person who are very ugly that really looks like the Penis! When you say 'tset' in Cantonese it is close to the number'seven' .So people in Cantonese may also say 'lay go yeun hol seven!' which means you are very ugly! you also looks like the penis!
Chiseen -- Cantonese for "crazy"