Sourcebook #1 - Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness, is a complete 168-page guide to Charted Space in the year 1248, published by ComStar Games. A century after the Third Imperium tore itself apart in civil war and dragged the rest of Charted Space down into ruin, Humanity still teeters on the brink of extinction. But now there is hope.

For emerging from the darkness are the powers of the New Era; the Fourth Imperium, the Terran Commonwealth, the Freedom League, the Zhodani Concord and many others. Diminished, battered and bloody, they remain as beacons in the night and as bastions against the howling tides of destruction.

Out of the Darkness continues the story begun with MegaTraveller’s Rebellion setting and moves forward from the early-reconstruction era of Traveller: The New Era. Compatible with all rules versions, Out of the Darkness presents an overview of Charted Space, with answers at last to the Big Questions of the New Era.

The history section tells of the fall of the Third Imperium and the fate of each faction. The tales of the survivors are told as well as those who strove and failed. The bright defiance of Archduke Margaret’s faction, holding the line to the end; the vainglorious grab for Capital by the Vilani Imperium and of course the horror that became the Black Imperium of Emperor Lucan. From the Second Rule of Man to the New Lords of Kusyu; from the honourable Republic of Regina to the living hell of the Black Imperium remnants, each successor state is unique. Out of the Darkness presents an overview of each, to be further developed in future products.

Between these fledgling empires lie whole sectors of Wilds, punctuated by pocket empires and trading alliances. An entire section of the book deals with conditions in the Wilds and how to generate UWP data for Wilds systems. Later sections of the book present answers to the big questions of the New Era universe – the Empress Wave and its effects on human space, the nature of Virus, and what lay behind the Black Curtain surrounding Capital. The fate of the Star Vikings is revealed as they forge Corewards to the aid of their lost human cousins.

Finally, a complete setting for Traveller games in the New Era is presented. The County of Ukse lies on the very fringe of the Fourth Imperium. It is a frontier between the civilized interior and the untamed Wilds, a place where adventurers can make a fortune or meet a miserable end.