many common questions about
the fictional universe of Pax Draconis
- Q: A setting overview:
- The setting is quite rich, designed to provide players with lots of options. Most groups wind up using Pax Draconis for adventures that would work in most space opera or cyberpunk genres. Everything from personal combat, social interaction, space combat, computer hacking and even a sort of magic gets covered.
In a nutshell, the galaxy was inhabited by two races, the humans and treebers until the draconians showed up from another galaxy. With superior technology, the draconians quickly conquered, ending years of skirmish wars between the two superpowers and uniting all under the Empire (hence the title Pax Draconis, which is based off the Pax Romana on Earth).
Peace was short-lived, however. Not everyone liked the new order and they worked for twenty years to split the Empire down the middle. Players will start in a galaxy torn by civil war, which opens a myriad of options up to them.
Technology covers everything one expects from good science fiction. Laser weapons mingle with slug-throwers, bullet proof vests have evolved into suits of powered armor or mechs, starships can travel between the stars at accelerations only their cyborg pilots can survive and reliance on computers makes the wily hacker a serious ally.
There are also savants: those willing to enter into a symbiotic union with a being from hyperspace. These savants wield a sort of magic that makes them justly feared by many.
- Q: What races are there?
- The galaxy has three major race groups. Humans are the most common and least diverse race. The draconians are newcomers to the galaxy and have several variations. The treeber species are the most diverse, being a loosely-related group of species who share a common base, with variations like four arms, infrared sight or under-water breathing.
Upcoming supplements will provide rules for custom species and make it possible to play robots.
- Q: What do the characters do?
- As just mentioned, characters can do anything they want.
Some groups like the cyberpunk genre, sticking to the grungy cities and doing odd jobs. They may be hackers, hit men, corporate spies, private investigators, police officers or vigilantes.
Other groups like to focus on space, and take on roles like trading, smuggling, transportation, exploration or even piracy.
Many groups combine the two, using their starships to get from place to place or enhance their abilities. Some groups have focused on the political conflict, playing soldiers or revolutionaries. The possibilities are endless.
That's the point of Pax Draconis, really. We provide a complete galaxy, not just a snapshot of part of it. You can do anything you want with it, take any focus and use any setting.
- Q: Where did Pax Draconis come from?
- Pax Draconis has a long history, going back almost thirteen years. In its earliest forms, the game was a fusion of many different Palladium RPG games (including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - stop laughing, damn you! - and Robotech). The Empire actually came out of a campaign that ran seven years.
The setting then evolved for several years purely through short stories as it took on its own unique character. More recently, it spent a short time as an online role-playing game (a "sim") where the rules were established in a very simplified form. Work on the sim eventually provided a foundation for the RPG's rules, though the original players will recognize little enough.
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