A while back, a new setting for the Star Fleet Universe was previewed in SFB's Module E2: the Triangulum Galaxy.
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The history of M33 is shaped by the divide between realms young and old. Long before the modern era, much of Triangulum was ruled by a species known only as the Ancient Ones; their Old Empire was considered beneficial by some, but tyrannical by many others. Eventually, a second powerful group (known either as the Saviours or the Usurpers, depending on who you ask) assembled a coalition of Old Empire subject species and launched the Annihilation War; this traumatic event saw the collapse of the Ancient Ones' realm, as well as their (and the Saviours/Usurpers) later disappearance.
Meanwhile, the Helgard system, which had been the core of a ten-thousand-year-old empire in its home reality, was transplanted to a part of 'our' Triangulum far from the scene of the Annihilation War. The long-lived Helgardians searched fruitlessly for 300 years or so to try and find a way back; eventually, they decided to 'settle in' and begin the construction of their Protectorate anew.
In the intervening millennium between that time and the onset of the modern era, the survivors on both sides of the War (the members of the Imperium, who saw themselves as the heirs to the Old Empire's legacy; and the Frigian Kingdom, a key player in the rebellion) struggled to re-build their societies while squabbling over the remains of the Old Empire.
Eventually, a series of new species began to develop and emerge; the Helgardians saw this as an opportunity to 'guide' the newcomers towards a mutually beneficial future.
So, from 2400 to 2416, the "Warp Pacts" were signed; the Helgardians agreeing to offer older frigate-sized engines, in exchange for favourable trade deals. (One of the species who signed such a deal were humans; a pre-warp Terran colony caravan had been caught in a space anomaly in 2388, transplanted to M33 before even First Contact had been made.)
Needless to say, things didn't quite work out in the way the Helgardians might have envisioned...
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At present, there are four playtest empires in publication for M33; three of which are in Module E2 (with certain added ships and rules online), the fourth in Captain's Log #23.
*The first empire in E2 is the Helgardian Protectorate; the reality-shifted ones who went around signing Warp Pacts. The ship on the left in the cover art shown above is one of theirs.
They are a long-lived (but slow-breeding) species, who see themselves as the wise elder states-beings of the Triangulum Galaxy. Their ships use the fast-firing graviton beams in place of phasers, and the direct-fire particle shotgun as their primary heavy weapon. Notably, they have a limited rotary shield ability (kind of like a miniature version of the Juggernaut's rotating shield) to augment their standard shield defenses.
*Next up are one of the young realms, the Arachnid Worlds of Unions. The Arachnids (a species of half-inch-long translucent spiders, who take over the minds and bodies of various host life-forms) fled the destruction of their home star system by literally latching onto one of the species the Helgardians had signed a Warp Pact with.
Their ships have various types of pulse phasers as their primary armament, as well as plasma-like hellfire and hellblazer torpedoes that become more powerful (and/or faster) the more turns you arm them!
They also have special rules for boarding actions, to show how they can assimilate the crews of many other species; notably, the Helgardians are immune to infection, and are thus considered by the Arachnids to be devils incarnate.
*The third on the list is another young realm; one which went through a tragic upheaval in the run-up to their own Warp Pact. The Mallaran Empire had been peaceful until 2375, at which point the Great Plague left everyone on Mallara sterile. In order to try and find a cure, the Mallarans built an AI called Overmind... which promptly took over, went with cloning as a way to continue the species, planted a chip in everyone' mind so it could decide who would be re-born and who would die, then used the Helgardians' warp engines in order to ransack the gene pools of every alien species unfortunate enough to be caught in the expanding Empire's path.
The Mallarans and Arachnids are intense rivals, constantly clashing in the Khartax Free Zone (a hotly-contested region of space caught between the two powers) in direct contravention to what the Helgardians had intended.
Mallaran ships have proton pulse emitters in place of phasers, along with the powerful (yet short-ranged) plasmatron as their heavy direct-fire option, as well as the seeking Ram torpedo. Many of their ships act as hybrid carriers, with Viper fighters supporting their operations.
The ship on the right of the cover art is one of theirs.
*CL23 introduced the fourth major power to the setting; the Imperium. Self-designated heirs to the Old Empire, the Imperium is comprised of several species and governments, (nominally) united under the rule of the Imperator. Their ship designs are mostly uniform across each member realm, but often have very different crews aboard them.
In practice, the Imperium's naval assets are divided between the Imperial Fleet and the navies of the largest autonomous provinces; more than once has a province attempted to secede, sparking a damaging civil war in the process. Even at times of peace, the fleet is hamstrung at the highest levels by the institutionalised bureaucracy within the Imperial government; certain civilian and military posts are inherited from one generation to the next, often regardless of the merit involved.
Imperial ships have linear accelerators in place of phasers, as well as a turret-mounted direct-fire weapon called the hypermass autocannon (each of which having a number of firing chambers, depending on the class of ship involved). Many ships also have a medium mine rack, shown as an optional refit; used to make life difficult for opposing ships wishing to pursue an Imperial vessel.
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One day, I hope to see M33 more fully explored, the way Omega and the Lesser Magellanic Cloud have been. (Maybe even for FC, too; I guess the Imperium would have to do without their Medium Mine Rack refit in that game.)
In the meantime, does any of the above look like it might be of interest?
