oe GUIDE:LORDS ZEXPANSE Introduction The Gamemaster Guide presents most of the political and social organizations present in Tapani sector (you'll find a few more in the Campaign Guide). The organization of the book is fairly straight-forward. We'll look first at the houses of the Expanse and the culture of the ‘apani nobility, then check out the Freeworlds. From there, we'll branch out to examine the various other organizations active in the sec: tor, from the Empire and the Mining Guild to the Rebel Alliance and fringe groups like pk rates and smugglers. Each chapter will introduce at least a couple of gamemaster characters (complete with ac- cessories) which tie in to the subject matter Some of these characters represent key lead ersof the sector, while othersare more generic representatives of a group. ‘You'll easily find applications for characters like the saber rake Alec Lamere or the Mining Guild recruiter Jinjur Tomas in your adven- tures. You can use the higher-ranking charac: ters like Moff Gustavu or Captain Lin Nunsk as backdrop characters if you like. However, Ii your players are running nobles, these mofts, governors, and house lords might be peers rather than superiors. In this case, they might develop as major gamemaster characters the characters interact with regularly. The personalities of the high lord or lady of each house are established in the section de- voted to each house. Stats are not provided for these characters in this book (you probably won't need them), The Icons The Campaign Guide is devoted to giving you pointers and material you can usein devel- \g your own Tapani sector campatgn, How- ever, there are spots in this book where we decided additional gamemaster-oriented con ‘ment on specific issues and ideas might be useful. We've put such commentary in sidebar Inaddition to the general-purpose sidebars we usually use, there are two kinds of specialized idebars in this book: Gamemaster Tips sidebars and Adventure sidebars. ‘The Gamemaster Tips sidebar features tips on handling cer- tain situations and issues raised in the text. It may sug- yest ways to introduce or use a character or organization, or talk: about ways to handle players in certain situations. In general, the Gamemaster Tips sidebars focus on applying the source material text to adventures and campaigns. The Adventure sidebars fea- short adventure ideas develop someconcept orsituation introduced in the text. Hopefully, these ideas will serve toget you thinking of ways you can appl the source material or get the creative juice flowing into new channels, Gamemaster GuideChapter One The Expanse “STAR. WARS Lorbs XEXPANSE Chapter One The Expanse The Expanse was the area of Tapani space first settled by Core colonists. It was here that the first clans and houses thrived, and it wasin. the Expanse that Shey Tapani forged an empire which lasted 6,000 years, Up until very recently, every momentous decision bearing on the sector was made in the Expanse; in the halls of the Great Council on Procopia, and also in the castles and palaces of thehouses thatstill rule the sector (Cadriaan is. the only house not located in the Expanse). Nowadays, the Freeworlds, the Mining Guild, and the Empireall havesomethingtosay about sector affairs, but many who live in the Ex- panse chose to overlook this embarrassing new reality. ‘The population of the Expanse is split into two basic socio-economic classes-the nobles and the common people. The ruling class, of course, is made up of the house nobles-who govern within their designated spheres. The common class includes the merchants, manu- facturers, and service providers who keep the sector economic engine running smoothly. The Nobility ‘There are approximately 345 noble families residing in the Tapani sector. Most of these families have been around in one form or an other since the mid-Dynastic Era, though some have changed house alilliation over time as ‘one house died and another was born While elsewhere in the Old Republic the idea of universal suffrage and equality has long existed, in Tapani sector the philosophy has persisted over the millennia that the power of rule belongs by right to the well-born. Nobles and commonersalike subscribe to this point of view, and find itright and natural. Perhaps this attitude helps explain both why Tapani citi- zens adjusted readily to the rise of the Galactic Empire, and why the Rebellion has difficulty in niting the flame of freedom in the Expanse. ‘The nobles of Tapani consider it subversive to seek power through popularity among the non-noble populace or by serving the selfish needs of the more needy, least educated, and least welkinformed members of the nobility ‘Though there have been many popular and charismatic rulers over the centuries, few nobles have attempted to head a public upr ing against the established noble class, and hone successfully. Those who are thought to harbor populist sympathies are shunned, both. by their peers and the lower classes. The Houses All noble families are members of a particu- lar house; a coalition of families which lay claim to certain territories and sector assets. House membership is accorded to those who are born into or marry into an established house family. ‘Thereare currently seven houses in Tapani Mecetti, Cadriaan, and Melantha are greater houses, which means they command major factions in the Great Council (see below). The upper families of the greater houses are the most powerful in the sector, and have connec- ions not only throughout the sector, but often on Coruscant and within the Imperial military as well Barnaba, Pelagia, Reena, and Calipsa are the lesser houses. They have less direct influen on the Great Council than the greater houses, but since the greater houses depend on them Gamemaster Guidei ‘Chapter One Lorps