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************************** Chapter 1 - Orientation **************************
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A Quick History

Beyond the Stellar Empire takes place 200 years in the future.  Humanity
has built a sizable Stellar Empire, ruled by the Emperor Jasil. Located at
one of the frontiers of the empire is the Capellan Periphery. Here you will
attempt to explore and exploit more than 100 star systems.

The BSE campaign began in 1981.  It has a rich history of exploration 
and conflict.  You can become a part of this legacy and even attain 
a certain degree of fame during your tenure as a starcaptain in BSE.

The New BSE

A new era of BSE began in May of 1989. This included brand new programs, 
maps, rulebook and computer system. Every aspect of the game has been 
improved to the point where no other Space Role-Playing game can compare.

Position Types

There are multiple types of positions in BSE: Starships, Colonies, 
Ground Parties, and Political Positions. You start in command of a 
Starship.  Starships are all-purpose spacecraft capable of exploration,
hauling cargo, and battle.  Colonies are small cities found throughout
the Capellan Periphery.  Ground Parties are composed of people and/or
equipment outside of a ship or colony. Their purpose is to explore or
conduct military operations on the surface of a world.  Political Positions 
are a position type reserved for advanced players.

To make things fair, each player is limited to three starship setups.
Additional positions must be acquired through skillful play.

How To Play

You write your orders on a turn sheet and submit it to Rolling Thunder
Games every week or two. We process your instructions and mail you the
results. Each time a turn is processed you pay a turn fee. You can play
for as long as you wish.

The Diplomacy Aspect

Each time you encounter another position during your turn, you may 
receive the name and address (and possibly phone#) of the player running 
the position.

One of the most enjoyable parts of any Play-By-Mail (PBM) game is 
diplomacy. Diplomacy involves communicating with other players. There 
is a lot you'll want to discuss. You'll also want to trade market 
reports, system maps, world maps, colony locations, vicious rumors, 
current happenings, battle results, and more. Diplomacy is especially 
fun in BSE because most of players role-play their positions to the 
hilt!

An option for limiting the distribution of your address is described 
in Appendix F.

Affiliations

Every player who joins BSE does so as a member of an affiliation.
Many affiliations are mega-corporations of the Stellar Empire. Each 
is led by a Periphery Director. Serving the Periphery Director are
Coordinators - each with his own area of responsibility, i.e. shipping,
colonization, defense, information, etc.

Most affiliations have immense resources, including many ships and 
colonies. Conflict can develop between two affiliations and is often 
settled with force.

Goals

Set your goals and seek to attain them through skillful play. Only 
you (and maybe your friends) can judge the level of your success. 
Don't be surprised if you find your time in the Capellan Periphery 
to include some of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of your lifetime.

The BSE Universe

The BSE Universe consists of three parts: the Capellan Periphery, the
Transhole Region and theInner Empire.  The Capellan Periphery is the
main playing area and all new players begin there. The Transhole Regio 
is an area for experienced players and is accessible through the Portcia
and Canally Systems. The Inner Empire is the remainder of the Stellar
Empire and is not accessible to players.

BSE Star Systems & Maps

Each Star System may have planets, moons, and asteroids to visit and
explore. To find your way within a Star System you'll need a System Map.
To obtain the map of the the system you are located in, you must fire a
SYSTEM PROBE from your ship.

Each world (except Gas Giants), has a World map. This can be obtained by
orbiting the world and then firing aPLANET PROBE from your ship. You cannot
land on a Gas Giant because its gravity would crush you. Asteroids do not
appear on System Maps but can be probed, orbited and landed upon.

World maps depict a grid of Sectors, each which also has a map. Each Sector
is further divided into 100 Squares for pinpointing exact locations on the
world. World maps wrap around from east to west only.

BSE World Detail

Each world has its own atmosphere, gravity, terrain, and ecology. 
Worlds that are simply hunks of craterous rock, like our own moon, 
aren't too interesting. But others (and there are many) have life!

Position Numbers

Each ship, colony and ground party, and political position in the 
game is assigned a unique position number. When writing orders, you 
must use these position numbers where indicated for Standard Actions.

Game Units

Stellars are the monetary units used in BSE. All stellar 
transactions are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Items in the game (except stellars) have a specific mass. The measure 
of an item's mass is called an MU (Mass Unit).

The measure of game time is called a TU (Time Unit). Each action you
perform requires a certain number of TU's to accomplish. You may not
save TU's from turn to turn.

Each game year consists of 52 weeks, numbered from 1-52.  Every Monday
is the start of a new game week. A game week is composed of 70 TU's.
Players can opt to submit ship or ground party turns weekly or every two
weeks. (See Appendix C.)

Standard Actions

The game is designed so that routine actions, such as ship movement, 
buying items, and changing your battle options, are computerized. 
You have more than 200 choices of Standard Actions (see Appendix B). 
You must write them in a specific format on your turn sheet.

Special Actions

Special Actions are processed by the Gamemaster (GM) and allow 
you to attempt any non-Standard (i.e. non-programmed) action that 
you can think of.  Using Special Actions you can role-play whatever 
situation you encounter in the game. They can range from the simple 
description of a trip to the sleazy section of a starport, to interactions 
with an intelligent race of beings. Special Actions are highly individual 
- limited only by your imagination and the space on the turn sheet 
for your description.

Items

Items are objects weighing at least one MU and include raw materials, 
manufactured goods and people. Some items function only in certain 
position types. Common items are listed in Appendix A; the statistics 
of these items, Appendix J.

Minor Items

Minor Items are small objects weighing less than one MU. These are 
not shown on your results printout. The GM assumes you already have 
a number of minor items aboard your ship. These include space suits, 
spare parts, clothing, etc.
