What will one day become the Galactic Republic begins as the Lightspeed League, a loose confederation of worlds (mostly human, some alien) that are bound together by similar history, culture, and outlook.

The worlds of the Lightspeed League exist within a three-dimensional shape several hundred parsecs across. Being so close to the galactic core, stars and planets are densely packed within the Lightspeed League, though the dense stellar clusters also make hyper-space travel slow, dangerous, and difficult. This has resulted in many independent worlds with their own vibrant civilizations, connected to the rest of the galaxy by ties of trade.

The Lightspeed League has seven major worlds. There’s no formal definition of a "major world," though it’s usually considered to be one with more than a billion inhabitants. Alderaan is also sometimes included in this list.

Each major world controls between a dozen and a hundred worlds around it, through a combination of political weight, military might, economic leverage, and cultural influence. The space taken up by these worlds—minor worlds, colonies, and outposts—are referred to as the major world’s "sphere." Worlds within a major world’s sphere often bear a similar culture, dialect, and technology level.

Alderaan:
Known for: Agronomy
World Type: Plains
Area of Control: Medium
Ruler: Queen Meitha Emberon
Allies: Alderaan, Aquillae, Coruscant
Enemies: Mandelore

A peaceful agricultural planet, Alderaan is the breadbasket of the galaxy, a temperate world of endless rolling plains placed under careful cultivation. Grains, cereals, fields, vineyards, and pastures where great herds thunder over the gentle hills can all be found on Alderaan.

Despite its rural character and small population, Alderaan features a rich cultural life. Manor-lords gather together many times a year for magnificent celebrations, and the wealth of the Alderaani nobility encourages artists, musicians, and philosophers to visit that fertile world. Further, the people of Alderaan can be found scattered far and wide: as a feudal society, wealth is inherited by the eldest child, meaning that younger children are usually given stipends and encouraged to make their way in the wider world (rather than settling on Alderaan, which needs its space for fields). Countless princes and princesses, lords and ladies scattered across the galaxy are in fact younger children of Alderaani nobles.

With the increasing prevalence of droid labor, the serfs that once worked the land have become increasingly rare. Queen Meitha, in fact, has dreams of a world with nothing but aristocrats and droids, where the lords and ladies of Alderaan can live in peaceful luxury forever. Many admire this goal and consider Alderaan a veritable utopia; others think of Alderaan as a weak and decadent world ripe for conquest.

Aquillae:
Known for: Adventure
World Type: Mountain
Area of Control: Small
Ruler: Prince Gofrissian Kaladon
Allies: Alderaan, Corellia
Enemies: Mandelore

Originally only a colony of Alderaan, Aquillae has since become a powerful and important planet in its own right, with influence perhaps greater than its parent-world. Aquillae is a world of extremes, with dizzying mountains, trackless forests, and lethal deserts, and its people have adapted: Aquillians are bold, competent, and adventurous, with a love of challenge and competition fused with a steely confidence and determination.

The cities of Aquillae are small and diffuse, as many Aquillians prefer to live in the wilderness, using technology to communicate with the larger planetary and galactic community. Aquillians are conservative and proud and favor ways of life that they know, so the inhabited regions of Aquillae exhibits a peculiar blending of ancient and modern. Aquillians ride zunipers as mounts, cook over ancient hearths, and engage in traditional hunting, trapper, and harvesting, but they just as easily employ airships (Aquillae has no native aerial mounts), communicators, and of course, starships that take them from world to world.

The Aquillians see themselves as explorers and adventurers, but also defenders of freedom—their Aquillian Rangers are some of the finest enforcers of law and order in the League. Others consider Aquillians dashing, romantic, and bold, but also insular and at times anti-social.

Corellia:
Known for: Trade
World Type: Garden
Area of Control: Large
Ruler: President Elbashan Blanto
Allies: Alderaan
Enemies: Coruscant
Allies: Aquillae
Enemies: Coruscant, Kortherio

Corellia is quite possibly the greatest trading world that the galaxy has ever known. Corellia trade ships cross-cross the Lightspeed League seeking riches, new contacts, and if the going is so, a bit of plunder on the side. Corellians are travelers, merchants, adventurers, scoundrels, privateers, and pirates.

The people living on Corellia are often a surprising departure from the Corellians found traveling the space lanes. An industrious and pragmatic people, native Corellians inhabit enormous arcologies of dark red brick, black iron and climbing purple ivy that would seem almost quaint if it weren’t for the staggering size of Corellian cities. The traditional architecture contrasts sharply with the sleek airships and high fashion that can be found everywhere on Corellia.

As the greatest mercantile power in space, Corellians see themselves as the "first among equals" of the Lightspeed League. Disdaining both Coruscant’s flighty philosophizing and Mandelore’s bleak Stoicism, Corellians see themselves as pragmatic but flexible, with the clout and wealth to command the destinies of billions. Others, by contrast, consider Corellians equal parts miserly and flamboyant, which is largely fair: sometimes it seems that any given Corellian can’t decide whether to be a dashing pirate or a conniving businessman.

Coruscant:
Known for: Philosophy
World Type: City
Area of Control: Large
Ruler: Supreme Chancellor Aesic Shintar
Allies: Alderaan, Kortherio
Enemies: Corellia, Mandelore, Ondoss

The sprawling city-world of Coruscant is the Jewel of the Galaxy. Other worlds may be wealthier (Corellia), more cultured (Alderaan), or mightier (Mandelore), but none achieves the heights in all of those traits at once. Even more importantly, no world in the League has the sheer richness of learning, the magnificent, chaotic, and thrilling clash of ideas and philosophies that can be found on Coruscant.

A world of cities, Coruscant’s shining towers, enormous palaces, and gleaming temples spread across over half the world’s land mass. The Invincible City, the largest and most glorious city in the League, stretches from the snow-capped Manarai Mountains across an entire continent. It is a beautiful city where airspeeders and great dirigibles float above the sparkling towers and palaces of Coruscanti senators, where philosophers and artists clash in the marketplaces and humans and aliens from all over known space can be found adding to the rich tableaux of local culture.

Coruscant’s open, Democratic society allows for a free and open exchange of ideas. Though this allows for a rich tapestry of philosophies, sciences, and studies of the mysterious Force, it also allows degenerates Force-users and wicked politicians to spread their webs of lies and fear virtually unhindered. None know whether Coruscant will integrate the disparate and chaotic elements of its society into a cohesive whole, or devolve into chaos and anarchy, but all recognize that right now no world in the League burns with Coruscant’s vibrant intellectual energy.

Kortherio:
Known for: Technology
World Type: Desert
Area of Control: Medium
Ruler: High Implementor Ganblix III
Allies: Coruscant, Ondoss
Enemies: Corellia

Though not a member of the original Lightspeed League, Kortherio has become a powerful and influential world known for its technological skill. While Corellia remains the greatest producer of starships and the alien empire of Bindar builds the finest droids, Kortherio has a broad-ranging technological base. Kortherians design an enormous variety of devices, including machine intelligences, starships, military weaponry, and tools, though they are most renowned for their ground and air vehicles, which the Kortherians have a peculiar love for.

Given this love, Kortherio itself is a sprawling city of tangled neon-lit roads, rising up a dozen levels in the largest cities. The sky is choked with airships and fluorescent smoke, and traffic roars day and night from the dusty deserts to the habitat-cubes and market-towers. The Kortherians are not deep thinkers, nor are they clever or treacherous; they love nothing so much as exploring technology and its benefits, often with a gleeful lack of concern for the consequences.

The other worlds of the League often see Kortherio as provincial and backwater, a land of technicians incapable of sophisticated thought. The Kortherians, for their part, are partially trapped by their situation, not considered full members of the League, with starships not as great as those of Corellia and droids not as refined as those of Bindar. Nonetheless, the Kortherians are determined to define themselves on the galactic stage, and in many ways they have succeeded.

Mandelore:
Known for: Warfare
World Type: Archipelago
Area of Control: Small
Ruler: Imperator Hemenda Plenn
Allies: Ondoss
Enemies: Coruscant, Alderaan, Aquillae

Mandelore is the World of Strife, a planet of endless battle. Some believe that Mandelorians are the dead warriors of other worlds, reborn for a life of eternal battle and glory. Others consider Mandelorians a greater threat to civilization than the hungry alien empires that rot and seethe at the edges of known space. Others still see the Mandelorians as a barbarian people introduced too quickly to the incredible power of galactic technology, and trying to reconcile the paradoxes of their new world without tearing their society apart.

Regardless of one’s opinion of the Mandelorians, certain things are well-known. Their native world, Mandelore, is divided into many small but very close islands, which produced intense tribal competition for much of Mandelore’s history. The Mandelorians themselves are humans or human variants (depending on where one draws the line), with very sleek black or indigo hair, angular features, dark skin, and bodies that are both sleek and powerful, built for the water. They are an arrogant, domineering, warlike people who are nonetheless capable of surprising insight as they survey the two worlds they straddle.

This hidden depth is lost on many, though, who see only the threat the Mandelorians pose. Their warships are terrible, and their elite soldiers, the Mandelorian Knights, are mechanized bringers of death showcasing the Mandelorians’ brutal application of galactic technology. Though quiet now, many wonder if the Mandelorians will strike out again on a campaign of conquest, and if they do, what will become of the Lightspeed League.

Ondoss:
Known for: History
World Type: Ice
Area of Control: Medium
Ruler: King Euphazhian
Allies: Kortherio, Mandelore
Enemies: Coruscant

The stark and beautiful world of Ondoss is an ancient and traditional world with a culture that many in the rest of the League consider impenetrable and bizarre. Though interaction with the larger galaxy has blunted the sharp edge of Ondossian society, it still remains a bastion of tradition and culture within the Lightspeed League.

The planet of Ondoss is cold and forbidding, inhabitable only around its equator where the Ondossians have built elegant cities of white metal and translucent plastic. Enormous geothermal generators provide warmth and life, and enormous transport ships bring food and supplies to distant Ondoss from agricultural space colonies in the inner system.

Ondoss is a world of tradition and culture, combining the vibrant energy of the League with the vast history and commanding governance of far older civilizations. But despite its connection to the League, Ondoss sees itself as a world apart, standing against what it sees as the anarchic philosophies of Coruscant, the greed of Corellia, and the lazy ignorance of Kortherio. The other worlds of the League see Ondoss as more akin to the alien empires, distant, baroque and ancient, unable to adapt to the modern world. Nonetheless, Ondoss fulfills an important role in the League, its conservative traditions applying the breaks to more chaotic and revolutionary planets.

Stretching beyond the worlds of the Lightspeed League are strange alien civilizations, ancient and powerful but already in the twilight of their power. Exhausted from within, unable to maintain their equilibrium, these alien empires either decay and shrivel into barren husks, ruling only a handful of worlds, or desperately expand, hoping that their ancient fleets can claim new worlds to drain dry of resources.

Not all alien civilizations, though, are brutal and decaying autocracies. Some are more like the worlds of the Lightspeed League, either returning to their ancient glory after a long sleep or arising from barbarism to take their own place in the galaxy.

Automated Theocracy of Bindar:
Known for: Droid Technology
Species: Shelibs
Capital: Bindar
Area of Control: Large
Ruler: Melb-eb-Herab, Machine Intellect of Bindar
Allies: Lightspeed League
Enemies: The Empire of Xim, The Manifold Kingdom

Bindar is the home of the Shelibs, a small humanoid species that has been enslaved by both Xim the Despot and the Manifold Kingdom. However, even while serving the Vesuri, Shelib artificers were building their salvation. Over the years the Shelibs constructed Melb-eb-Herab, an incredible machine intelligence that freed the Shelibs from bondage. Under the great computer’s tutelage, the Shelibs constructed a great fleet of colony-ships and established their own civilization.

Over the centuries, the Shelibs took back their homeworld and formed the Automated Theocracy of Bindar, ruled by their great computer and administrated by a caste of machine-lords. The Shelibs are master technicians, specializing in droid technology. They believe that their centuries of bondage have freed them further drudgery, and so have spent years designing entire classes and orders of droids to serve their needs.

But the Machine Intellect that rules the Shelibs is not content to emancipate only its own people; recently it has ordered its people to begin construction of droids for export. The Lightspeed League and other societies have benefited greatly from this computer technology, as Bindaran droids (or local designs inspired by Bindar) have become a core component of many civilizations’ economies and societies.

The Duro States:
Known for: Transportation
Species: Duros
Capital: None
Area of Control: Medium
Ruler: No single ruler
Allies: The Lightspeed League
Enemies: The Manifold Kingdom

The Duro are an adventurous species of explorers and diplomats scattered across a loose collection of worlds. They have no unified government, and the different, squabbling states shift allegiances in a heartbeat, moving from trade allies to bitter foes. The Duros unite only to oppose the machinations of the Manifold Kingdom, from whom they stole the secrets of hyper-space that allows their curious people to scatter across the stars. The Vesuri and the Duros are bitter enemies, having fought many bloody border wars.

The Duros are united by this hatred of the Vesuri, by a naturally restless and adventurous spirit that propels them to colonize new worlds, and by Nok (rhymes with "poke"). "Nok" is "the blood"; it is a belief that all Duros, no matter how scattered, all share blood that dates back to the dawn of the race. This axiom of faith has been twisted by powerful Force-users called the Noko, who have delved deep into the secrets of life and death. This is the Dark Side of Duros society: their gleaming cities of gravitic wonders and ambitious people are built, layer by layer, atop the tombs of the dead, necropoli where the Noko skulk and perform their unnatural studies. Despite the malice of the Noko, Nok serves as an important stabilizing force for the Duros, and so the strange masters of the Blood are tolerated, and even respected.

Duros cities, built on the abandoned husks of dead streets and homes, bear an ever-present mark of confusion, impermanence, and chaos. The younger Duros consider their vehicles to be their true homes, and as masters of gravitic technology they have pioneered starship and speeder design; hovering like a cloud over Duros cities are thousands of speeders, airships, and traveling house-ships.

The Manifold Kingdom:
Known for: Religion
Species: Vesuri
Capital: Espion
Area of Control: Large
Ruler: The First Lord
Allies: None
Enemies: Automated Theocracy of Bindar, The Duro States

The Manifold Kingdom is the largest civilization controls by masters of the Force. The Hyper-space Lords rule as priests and kings, their corrupt theology serving as the backbone of the Kingdom’s civilization. Like most ancient alien civilizations outside of the League, the Manifold Kingdom is a rigid and hierarchical society controlled by all-powerful lords, where lesser beings toil ceaselessly beneath their masters.

Though the Vesuri (an insectoid race renowned for their fearsome presence) are the primary inhabitants of the Manifold Kingdom, not all members are Vesuri, and not all Vesuri are members of the Kingdom. As its name implies, the Manifold Kingdom contains many species, mostly slave-peoples toiling for the whim of the First Lord. However, revolution and change are brewing in the static society of the Manifold Kingdom. The terrifying First Lord has grown interested in other philosophies of the Force. He has surrounded himself with viziers and prophets, excluding the traditional hierarchy of the Hyper-space Lords. Treason is in the air as the Lords consider casting down their master, halted only by the haunting silence of their mysterious masters.

These political concerns matter little to the slaves of the Manifold Kingdom, who toil to raise great hyper-dimensional structures that wound the eye and trouble the mind. Major worlds of the Kingdom are usually barren wastelands, stripped of all that lives and holds value, with enormous towers and pyramids that twist the air and call down great starships that allow the bleak worlds to survive.

Narueptual (Kingdom of the Wise and the Potent):
Known for: Philosophy
Species: Seekathi, Gephu
Area of Control: Small
Ruler: Consuls Emphaiu (Seekathi) and Plinteer (Gephu)
Allies: None
Enemies: Republic of Patha

The civilization of the Seekathi and Gephu was stagnant and degenerate for many years, devoted to ever more obscure questions of philosophy, ruled by apathetic pontifex-kings. Though sluggish to change, the appearance of the Lightspeed League has again turned Seekath outward, and new thinkers have appeared to challenge the staid and pedantic metaphysics of old.

Though Seekath may never fully return to its days of glory, when its temples and schools were renowned across the known galaxy, Seekath’s effect upon the Lightspeed League has been enormous. Ancient Seekathi philosophers are being read again on worlds like Coruscant, their thoughts renewed and rejuvenated by those young worlds.

Republic of Patha:
Known for: Tranquility
Species: Sepith
Capital: Patha
Area of Control: Medium
Ruler: High Aerionomist Halssithshariss
Allies: The Lightspeed League
Enemies: The Empire of Xim, Narueptual

The Republic of Patha is a peaceful civilization ruled over by the avian Sepiths, a pleasant race that channels its violent, war-like tendencies into rigid cultural traditions and violent games. Pathan cities are usually diffuse and built onto cliffs, which the Sepiths favor. Stretching out from the mountains (or standing alone, in the case of space colonies or cities on flat worlds) are intricate networks of many-colored metal, enormous open-air cities that look like bejeweled metal cages. This is where the Sepiths prefer to spend their time, contemplating philosophy and engaging in their intricate social games.

As the first beings in this part of the galaxy to discover hyper-space (through the Starfallen, able to travel from star to star without ships), the Sepiths hold an important place in galactic society. Xim the Despot would conquer them to learn their secrets, and the Seekathi, another philosophical race, opposes them, seeing them as unworthy heirs to the knowledge of the galaxy.

This has resulted in a gradual contraction of Patha society. Many think that the civilization is dwindling, as the Sepith abandon world after world, falling in on themselves and on their own concerns. None known if the Republic of Patha will survive the changes that are now sweeping over the galaxy, or if their contributions will be remembered in generations to come.

Empire of Xim:
Known for: Conquest
Species: Many
Capital: Halbec
Area of Control: Enormous
Ruler: Xim the Despot
Allies: None
Enemies: Automated Theocracy of Bindar

The Empire of Xim spreads across thousands and thousands of parsecs, a ruthless, totalitarian civilization ruled by a mysterious warlord called Xim the Despot. Reigning from his capital city of Halbec, Xim commands dozens of alien species, keeping them in line through his terrible battle-fleets.

Of course, Xim the Despot’s greatest and most dreadful contribution to galactic civilization is his vast army of war droids: enormous humanoid warriors of gleaming chrome, top-heavy with lasers and other terrible weapons, each with enough firepower to wipe out an entire infantry squad. Once, these metallic juggernaughts reduced whole worlds to ash, but centuries ago Xim’s forces were scattered: many were destroyed, and some were hidden. Now, Xim seeks to restore his terrible army and once again wage war on the soft, healthy civilizations that surround him.

Life in the Empire of Xim is terrifying and brutal. All save Xim are slaves in a rigid hierarchy of fear and control, with all power residing with the Despot and his army of utterly loyal war droids. The sole purpose of most in the Empire of Xim is to climb as far as they can, to control as many as they can, before some error brings about their execution.

Hundreds of species are already known; thousands or millions more exist to be discovered. Those races that will one day become known throughout the galaxy (Wookiees, Jawas, Devaronians, and many more) are, unless listed here, as yet undiscovered, lying far from that part of the Core where humanity first makes its appearance. Instances of those species will not appear, except perhaps as lone individuals arriving near the Core due to hyper-space mishaps or even stranger events.

Variants, sometimes called "near-humans" (though this is not considered a respectful term), are alternate humans descended from regular human stock, usually adapted to a specific environment. Variants are the results either of natural selection or deliberate genetic modification by agents unknown. The following variant types are known.

Aquatic: Found on water worlds. Slick skin, webbed fingers, water-adapted eyes, gills. +1D in wet conditions, -1D in dry conditions. 1D of skills placed in Swimming. Can breathe underwater. –1D Strength if above-water for more than a number of hours equal to Strength dice.

Arctic-Adapted: Found on ice worlds. Pale skin, thick layer of blubber and/or fur. +1D vs. cold, -1D vs. heat, +1D vs. blinding. Strength 1D+1/4D+1, Dexterity 1D/3D+2.

Cave-Adapted: Found on mountain and volcano worlds. Albino skin, huge luminous eyes. Darkness penalties reduced by 2D. Albinism: All actions –1D in direct sunlight without protection.

Cosmetic: Some variants are merely the result of genetic drift. They often display unusual pigmentation or facial structure, subtly modified fingers or internal organs, strange facial or cranial features, or other minor alterations. These changes are purely cosmetic, though they do mark the variants out as something other than baseline human.

Dark-Adapted. Found on cold desert and dim-sun worlds. Pale skin, large eyes. +1D vs. cold, -1D vs. heat. Darkness penalties reduced by 1D. Vision –1D in very bright lights.

Dense Atmosphere: Found on dense atmosphere planets. Treat Dense atmospheres as Standard, Standard atmospheres as Thin, etc.

Desert-Adapted: Found on hot desert worlds. Dark skin, heavy-lidded eyes. +1D vs. heat. +1D vs. blinding. –1D in wet environments.

Flyer: Found on low-gravity worlds. Large leathery or feathered wings and thin, extensively redesigned bodies. Strength 1D/3D. Fly 15/20 (only in light gravity), +1D Climbing/Jumping (in standard gravity), stun vulnerable (stuns last 1D rounds).

Heavy Gravity: Found on heavy gravity worlds. Stocky bodies, dense muscles. Strength 1D+2/4D+2, Dexterity 1D/3D+1.

Jungle-Adapted: Found on jungle and hot swamp worlds. Dark skin. +1D vs. heat, -1D vs. cold. +1D vs. poison.

Light Gravity: Found on light gravity worlds. Tall, slender bodies, tapering muscles. Strength 1D+1/3D+1, Dexterity 1D+2/4D+2, no degeneration or penalties in light gravity.

Microgravity: Found on asteroids and in deep space without artificial gravity. Very tall, slender bodies, gripping feet. Strength 1D/3D, Dexterity 3D/5D, no microgravity penalties, no degeneration or penalties in microgravity, feet can hold objects at –1D Dexterity, terrestrial Move 5/7.

Semi-Aquatic: Found on wet worlds and water worlds. Slick skin, webbed fingers, water-adapted eyes. +1D in wet conditions, -1D in dry conditions. 1D of skills placed in Swimming.

Thin Atmosphere: Found on thin atmosphere planets. Large chests and lungs. Treat Thin atmospheres as Standard, Standard as Dense, Very Thin as Thin, etc.

Duros:
Homeworld: Duro
Abilities: STR 1D+2/3D+2 DEX 2D+1/4D+1 PER 2D/4D KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D+2/4D+2 TECH 2D+1/4D+1. During character creation only, receives 2D in Astrogation or any space piloting for every 1D placed in the skill.
Sample Names: Uukor, Nom, Fanu, Koshi

The Duros are explorers and adventurers, dome-headed aliens with a civilization that lies near the Lightspeed League. They are renowned as travelers and pilots.

Gephu:
Homeworld: Seekath
Abilities: STR 1D/3D+1 DEX 2D/3D+2 PER 2D/4D KNO 2D+1/4D+1 MECH 2D/4D TECH 3D/5D. Move 3/5, Fly 12/15. Common sense (allowed to roll Perception if at risk of doing something very stupid).
Sample Names: As Seekathi

The Gephu are the Seekathi’s pragmatic twins. Fat flying creatures that look something between a hamster and a sparrow, Gephu are hard-nosed and practical, given to various technical and administrative skills. They are by nature loyal to Seekathi, and can often be seen flitting among Seekathi herds, organizing and managing.

Gandor:
Homeworld: Gandrid
Abilities: STR 2D/4D DEX 1D+1/3D+1 PER 1D+2/3D+2 KNO 2D+1/4D+1 MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D+1/4D+1. –1D in dry environments. Amphibian (can breathe air and brackish water, but not fresh or salt water), +2D Swimming, Move 7/10.
Sample Names: Yong, Plung, Sung, Shalutang

The Gandors are the native inhabitants of Gandrid. They look like large, slippery tadpoles standing one to one and a half meters tall, with large heads, big side-mounted eyes, and flexible limbs. They are typically black, off-white, purple or green. Their swampy home is rich in natural medicines, and the Gandor are known as gifted doctors.

Seekathi:
Homeworld: Seekath
Abilities: STR 3D/4D+2 DEX 1D/3D PER 2D+1/4D+1 KNO 3D/5D MECH 2D/3D+1 TECH 2D/4D. Move 5/7.
Sample Names: Bakru, Iltath, Eekthi, Tephinu

The Seekathi are the large, four-legged, two-armed native inhabitants of Seekath. Peaceful and philosophic, they favor study over violence, but can be surprisingly aggressive if provoked—and some follow selfish or even downright malevolent philosophies. Despite their academic tendencies, few Seekathi are attuned to the Force. Many high-ranking Seekathi have one or more Gephu serving them.

Sepith:
Homeworld: Patha
Abilities: STR 2D/3D+1 DEX 2D/4D PER 2D+1/4D+1 KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/3D+2 TECH 2D/4D. Move 7/9, Fly 20/25. +1D to grapple checks, reduce range by one step. Stun-vulnerable: stuns last 1D rounds.
Sample Names: Hunnenithman, Bakkeirass, Sharuthannithiss, Mathekkeruss

The Sepiths are a race of humanoid avians with feathered bodies and angular faces (though they lack beaks, instead having feathered snouts and bright eyes). Fruit-eating herbivores, the Sepiths nonetheless produce large families and have thus fought many wars over their mountainous home. To control population pressures, they long ago left their world, claiming several dozen colonies. The Sepiths are known to many species, as the Force-users among them existed even before the rise of hyper-space travel, and have the ability to travel the stars without vessels.

Shelib:
Homeworld: Bindar
Abilities: STR 1D/3D DEX 2D/4D PER 2D+1/4D+1 KNO 2D+2/4D+2 MECH 2D+1/4D+1 TECH 3D/5D.
Sample Names: Delb, Thib, N’rab, Pulb

The Shelibs are an ambitious race of small, humanoid beings, standing a little over a meter tall with spindly limbs and long ears. They appear to be made of glass, often clear but sometimes tinted blue, yellow, green, or some other color—their translucent organs are dimly visible as "flaws" within the smooth crystalline form. Shelibs are intelligent, ambitious, and technically proficient.

Vesuri:
Homeworld: Espion
Abilities: STR 2D/4D+1 DEX 1D+1/3D+1 PER 2D/5D KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D+1. Attributes 10D. Four arms (performing the same action with two arms is treated as one action), Command +1D, Fearful Presence (anyone targeted by the Vesuri’s Fearful Presence must make a Very Easy Willpower (or Control) check or flee in terror for 1D rounds; the Vesuri can target one subject per round, and other Vesuri are immune to the effect).
Sample Names: Alanmanth, Razavast, Balapani, Dalpath

Created by some lost race, the Vesuri are insectoid beings that possess a fiery nimbus of charisma. They were likely created as captains or generals for some ancient war of the distant past. Natural leaders, they have become common throughout the galaxy, researching their own hyper-space secrets.

Ambleglork:
Homeworld: Glumpok
Abilities: STR 2D/4D DEX 1D+1/4D PER 2D/4D KNO 2D/4D+1 MECH 1D+2/4D TECH 2D/4D+1. All-around vision--Ambleglorks have no "back". Move 5/7.

Amiar:
Homeworld: Am-Hokra
Abilities: STR 2D/4D DEX 2D+1/4D+1 PER 2D+1/4D+1 KNO 1D+2/3D+2 MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D+2. Move 12/15, Jump +1D, monochromatic vision.
Sample Names: Bogo, Halagard, Moshom, Gal, Halaphon

Tall humanoids with glistening green, red, or black skin, often covered in brightly painted tattoos, Amiars are an ambitious people who were enslaved by the enigmatic Hutts and used to fight Xim the Despot. They were used as a slave race for many years, though many are now free and have established colonies around their new world of Am-Hokra.

Arukk:
Homeworld: Arukk
Abilities: STR 2D/4D DEX 2D/4D PER 2D/4D KNO 1D+2/3D+2 MECH 1D/3D TECH 1D+2/3D+2. Attributes 10D. Gliding hood (leap and float 10 meters, 30 meters amidst warm air vents). Burning gas breath (once/day per die of Strength, 4D damage, range 1, uses Fire Breath skill based on Strength), Move 8/10.

Natives of a toxic volcanic world, the Arukks have evolved amidst poisonous gases that would kill most life. Arukks have gray, black, or ochre skin and a serpentine appearance, and they possess a large retractable hood that runs along the length of their body on both sides and that is used to glide among the warm air currents. The Arukks are also known for their ability to spew burning gas from vents along their throat. The creatures’ natural deadliness means that the Arukks are cooperative and non-violent. They still remain in a Stone Age society.

Dalthi:
Homeworld: Dalathia
Abilities: STR 2D+1/4D+1 DEX 2D/4D PER 2D/4D KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D. Attributes 11D. +2D to climbing, +1D Brawling with claws, +3D to any attempt to cling and hold on, wind-resistant. Move 8/10 (two legs), 12/15 (four legs).

The Dalthi are an intelligent species native to a large storm-wracked planet. Dalathia’s intense storms have resulted in small, low-lying creatures that are comfortable on either two or four legs and who have a knack for clinging. The furry, bright-whiskered Dalthi have a sophisticated society that is inching toward hyper-capability, though their cities are placed away from the worst weather-bands, where devastating winds whip up poisonous sands that even the Dalthi have trouble breathing.

Espa:
Homeworld: Espanon
Abilities: STR 1D+2/4D DEX 2D/4D PER 2D/4D KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D. Attributes 11D. +2D to swimming, tentacles (+3D to Perception to detect anyone within ten meters, able to determine level of injury to anyone that the Espa has detected).

Espas are primitive, largely uncontacted species found near Corellia, close to the uncharted regions of Luminous. They are short, squat, and rather unattractive, with broad mouths, top-mounted eyes and dangling tentacles that can detect movement in air and water, as well as blood.

Fyan:
Homeworld: Eternity
Abilities: STR 2D/4D DEX 2D/4D PER 2D/4D KNO 2D/4D MECH 3D/5D TECH 2D/4D. Attributes 10D. Four arms (performing the same action with two arms is treated as one action), robust lungs (immune to tainted atmospheres).

The Fyans are native to a world conquered by the fanatical near-human Geppans. Before the arrival of the Geppans, they possessed a pre-industrial technology base that was nonetheless impressive for its native life, many of which the Fyans had turned into near living tools over the millennia. The Fyans possess an oddly diffuse sense of self, which extends to where the Fyans are and what they control. Though this makes the Fyans dangerously territorial and at times, seemingly greedy, it also makes them naturals with tools and technology. The four-armed Fyans have adapted well to advanced technology, which they treat as they treated their servant-animals. The Geppans fear that they will one day break free of their servitude, meaning that they have redoubled their conversion efforts.

Imrian:
Homeworld: Imris
Abilities: STR 2D/4D+1 DEX 2D+1/4D+1 PER 2D/4D+2 KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D. Move 12/15. Claws (+1D damage). Poisonous bite (-1D to Strength if Moderate Strength check is failed, anyone at 0D is Incapacitated)

The reptilian Imrians are natives of a dry savanna world renowned for its enormous herbivores. They are fast pack-hunters who have recently been introduced to the galactic community. The Imrians have a great respect for cleverness and tricks, and though they dislike open violence, an angry Imrian makes a dangerous assassin.

Kalatran:
Homeworld: Muros
Abilities: STR 3D/5D DEX 2D/4D PER 2D/4D+2 KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D+1 TECH 1D/3D. Cold Resistance (+2D).
Sample Names: Aloosh, Kaizzel, Oianstaib, Roosser

The Kalatrans hail from the snowy world of Muros. Tall, broad-faced humanoids ranges from 2 to 2.3 meters in height, Kalatrans have thick hair and tall, dark horns. All except those along the equator are covered in fur. Kalatrans are a proud warrior race that was dying out as their world froze over. However, with the arrive of Coruscanti traders, they have begun to leave their world and explore the wider galaxy.

Meiob:
Homeworld: Pekinda
Abilities: STR 2D+1/4D+1 DEX 2D/4D Per 1D+2/3D+2 KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D. Attributes 12D.

The Meiobs are a moderately advanced alien species from the planet Pekinda. An electronics-age people whose advanced members have borrowed hyper-drive technology, the Meiobs are frightening-looking creatures with intricate mouthparts, tentacle beards, and four sharp horns. Their bodies are bent and animal-like, and they possess small vestigial wings on their backs. Despite their ugly appearance, Meiobs are a pleasant people who have made a name for themselves supplying radioactive material to the Engine Worlds of the Hapu Subsector.

Pango:
Homeworld: Bindar
Abilities: STR 3D/5D DEX 3D/5D PER 2D+1/4D+1 KNO 1D/3D MECH 1D+1/3D+1 TECH 1D+1/3D+1. Lashing tongue (a hit binds the character, although he can make a Moderate Strength or Dexterity check to escape—bound characters cannot use the bound area).
Sample Names: Pango names are untranslatable growls and they do not often speak any recognized language

The Pango are a monstrous and vicious race, intelligent but cruel and diabolical, delighting in torment. They are tall, around 2.2 meters tall, and powerfully built, with sharp claws and horns as well as a deadly, lashing tongue that can be used to snag enemies. Though capable of forming civilizations, most live cruel and alone in the wilderness, though some have bartered passage into space.

Woggle:
Homeworld: Talinore
Abilities: STR 1D+1/3D+1 DEX 2D+1/4D+1 PER 2D/4D KNO 2D/4D MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D. Machine intuition (can make a Knowledge check to understand unfamiliar technology, with difficulty depending on the obscurity of the device), +2D Swimming, wriggly (+2D to escape bonds and holds), water-breathing (requires life support to survive in air), Move 5/7.

Natives to the oceans of Talinore, the Woggles are plump vole-like creatures with slick bodies, big eyes, and nimble hands. They achieved interplanetary travel before the arrival of other races, though their technology was limited by their water-based respiration, they managed to reach several nearby planets and create extensive colonies. Thirty years ago other races started to arrive via hyper-drive, and the Woggles have started to spread across known space.

Vulo:
Homeworld: Karaska
Abilities: STR 3D/5D DEX 2D/4D PER 1D+1/3D+1 KNO 1D+2/3D+2 MECH 2D/4D TECH 2D/4D. Attributes 10D. Armor +1D archaic, +1 modern. Strong lungs (immune to tainted atmospheres), Bony knuckles (Brawling damage +1). Move 12/15.

The Vulo hail from the world of Karaska, with its thin, tainted atmosphere. The Vulo are barrel-chested humanoids with bony ridges covering their bodies, exotic antlers, and strong legs capped with single toes. Once peaceful, they have since been conquered by a Dark Jedi, who has transformed them into a deadly fighting force for his twisted war against the civilized worlds.

Zennim:
Homeworld: Saruka
Abilities: STR 2D+1/4D+1 DEX 1D+2/3D+2 PER 3D/5D KNO 2D/4D MECH 1D+2/3D+2 TECH 1D/3D. Multiple eyes (can focus on two things at once, +1D to avoid surprise), Move 10/12.

The Zennim are native to the world of Saruka, where they evolved on the world’s single continent of Hashu. They are a simian race with pale thick fur and four independently-rotating eyes, known for being passive, friendly, and artistic. The Zennim were nearly exterminated by the first Seekathi and Gephu colonists to reach Saruka, who devastated the world’s atmosphere and the Zennims’ native culture. The Zennim have since restored much of their society, and many have left to study the art and poetry of other worlds.

Before the Republic, even humans of the Core Worlds spoke thousands of different languages. Though a sort of "League Basic," based on a Coruscanti merchant language with loan words from Corellia, Duro, and other planets, serves as a rough pidgin that is understood across the entire League, this simple language is used more out of necessity than desire. (Though one can assume that anyone traveling in the League can speak enough League Basic to get by.) Each major world has a unique dialect of League Basic (barely comprehensible by people with other accents), and Basic is slowly developing into a full-fledged language.

One can safely assume that every world has one major language, with a typical Languages difficulty of Easy for large, well-contacted worlds, Moderate for more distant worlds, and Difficult for most isolated worlds. Being unable to speak the local languages will usually incur a –1D penalty for all social checks on provincial worlds.

The growing interconnectedness of worlds in the Lightspeed League has led to the appearance of numerous interplanetary organizations. Some are tied to specific worlds, others serve particular ideologies, but all have an influence on the galactic scene, working to shape the emerging society of the League.

Before hyper-drive, enormous "fast ships" that traveled close to the speed of light crisscrossed the Lightspeed League, forming bonds of trade and exploration. The astonishing sub-light speeds that these fast ships traveled distorted space, so that a journey of years or decades passed like only weeks or months for those on-board the ships. The "ageless" traders saw entire planetside civilizations rise and fall; returning to a single world every ten or fifty or hundred years, they came to be called the Immortals.

The Immortals still exist. Despite the superiority of hyper-space travel, Immortal ships continue their centuries-long trading circuits, not because the method is profitable, but because the Immortals wish to maintain their traditions. For people who have seen the growth of civilizations from barbarism, a life in mundane time is impossible. Others, new to the lifestyle, dream of seeing the development of civilization, above the petty concerns of everyday life.

Immortal ships are huge cylinders or rectangles without artificial gravity or inertial dampers (which disrupt the time-dilation). The absence of artificial gravity means that most immortals are delicate and spindly, and rarely do they descend onto a planet. Though they bear no common culture, nor a similar appearance save their microgravity looks, Immortals all appear distant and passive, unconcerned with temporal things; to them, the people they meet on one world will be centuries dead by the time they return, so they do not worry about the mundane details of planetside life.

The League possesses few organizations that stretch across more than one planet. Most worlds are too arrogant, too insular, or too incompatible to maintain such organizations. The greatest exception, though, are the guilds: transplanetary organizations dedicated to the accumulation of wealth.

The first true guild was the Hyper-space Guild, and to this date it is the only guild without a home planet (it has branches on most major worlds). Dedicated to maintaining nav-computers, astrogation logs, and hyper-space travel lanes, the Hyper-space Guild possesses enormous influence across the entire League.

Once the Hyper-space Guild formed, it seemed only natural that other guilds would appear. Planetary companies combined into transplanetary organizations, including the Transport Guild, the Techno Guild, and the Banking Guild. These powerful companies control their selected products all across the League, though they are certainly not all-powerful. Planetary and even smaller companies compete locally with the guilds, and many worlds will have nothing to do with transplanetary guilds, fearing their influence. Despite these limitations, the guilds are extraordinarily powerful, and will certainly play an important role in the rapidly-changing galactic society.

The acknowledged guardians of the hyper-space travel lanes throughout much of the Lightspeed League, the Aquillian Rangers serve as marshals, escorts, and bounty hunters. A loose-knit group centered on Aquillae, the Rangers are renowned for their sleek hyper-capable warships and their exceptional sensor technology.

In space, Rangers employ high-speed fighters that often travel with independent ships, deploying in case of trouble. From two to sixteen Aquillian Guardians offer support for merchant ships in dangerous regions of space. Larger fighter groups use frigate-sized Aquillian Star Carriers that can contain from thirty to sixty fighters, depending on configuration. When pirates can muster full-blown warship, Aquillian Ships of the Line (fast, heavy destroyers) are deployed alone or in groups to hunt down and destroy pirate bases or large raider forces.

Up close and personal, Aquillian Rangers rely on their Sensorium Helmets, extraordinary pieces of technology that provide extraordinary audiovisual faculties, granting Aquillian Rangers virtual clairvoyance. Not only does this enhance a Ranger’s piloting and gunnery skills, it allows him to get the drop on enemies. The Mandelorians have tried for years to get their hands on a working Aquillian Ranger suit, to copy the technology for their own soldiers, but Sensorium Helmets are designed to self-destruct if handled by anyone but the proper owner.

Located on Saruka in Narueptual, the League of Preservation is a group of Seekathi, Gephu, and other creatures that are dedicated to preventing starfaring societies from interfering with the development of primitive species. The League is surprisingly wealthy and influential, with branches on most major worlds.

Formed after the near-destruction of Saruka by external influences, the League serves as a powerful voice for conservation. It has repeatedly entreated the worlds of the League to establish some sort of first contact protocol to prevent the despoiling of uncontacted worlds. The League, of course, is merely the reasonable mirror of numerous dangerous conservation- and anti-technological organizations. Every day it struggles to distance itself from such groups, presenting a reasonable face to conservationist concerns. The League has close ties with the Aquillian Rangers, which supports its goal of responsible expansion, though its activities are bitterly opposed by most of the guilds, which consider the League a dangerous reactionary organization.

The lunatic fringe of the conservationist movement, No Contact!’s romantic and adventurous image is sullied only by its history of terrorism, sabotage, and fear-mongering. A radical conservationist organization made up of ecoterrorists, fallen nature-priests, and other wild-eyed fanatical sorts, No Contact! has a simple credo: all expansion, all cultural contamination, all technological development, must stop.

To this end, No Contact! attacks developments, sabotages new colonies (including vulnerable space colonies), and funds pirates, revolutionary groups, and others with the means to disrupt interstellar communication. Working in small, flexible cells (often amidst other, more reasonable groups), No Contact! manages to just skirt the worst accusations, masquerading behind puppet organizations and making sure that the money used to destroy mines or spoil oxygen-generators is not traced back to them.

Though more strongly tied to a specific world than other galactic organizations, the interstellar influence of the Mandelorian Knights is well known. The Knights are the elite warriors of the Mandelorian armies, deadly warriors in head-to-toe armor that serves as a mobile weapon platform. Their blasters, mounted lasers, and internal melee weapons (electrowhips, vibroblades, and worse) allow them to fight off whole battle squads, or to hold their own against their mortal enemies, of which they have many: the war droids of Xim the Despot, the Jedi Knights, the Aquillian Rangers, and others.

The Mandelorian Knights, trained from infancy in great metal cathedral-fortresses, are not normally front-line warriors. Instead they serve as scouts, hit-and-run warriors, and assassins, using their jet packs to stay mobile and engage slower-moving enemies. The Mandelorian Knights (called by their fellows "Thruster Knights") have discovered that they are especially deadly in urban environments, where they can make best use of their jet packs to seek cover and position themselves above their opponents.

There are quadrillions and quadrillions of species in the known galaxy, tamed and wild, harmless and dangerous. Below are several creatures that have had a significant influence on galactic society.

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