Can we get on with our lives now?

Let me just say that I hate politics. I hate it, hate it, hate it! Oh, how I hate it so!!

Having said that, I should point out that Imperium Chronicles is full of politics (at least where factions are concerned). Each group is out to better their position, often at the expense of other groups. Many are, in fact, diametrically opposed. Why did I include this in the game? Mostly it’s because a good game, like a good story, needs conflict: a protagonist versus an antagonist. Also, I think it’s human nature to dislike each other, especially those who are in any way different than ourselves. Even if two people looked exactly alike and came from similar backgrounds in similar places, you can bet there’d be something that they’d dislike about each other. It’s why human history is full of fighting. Peace is not in our repertoire.

But enough about politics . . . did I mention how much I hate it?

I’ve written yet more on the Lions’ Den (the main camp of Tagus Mines on Rochan). One of the influences for this sourcebook has been the ’81 movie Outland starring Sean Connery. I saw it in the theatre as a kid and I’ve seen it a few times on TV since. I’ve always been struck by the cramped living conditions of the miners in the film and how they turned to drugs and prostitutes to cope. Since the miners on Rochan live entirely underground, almost never seeing the sky, their lives are very much like the ones in Outland. To that end, I’ve also included an underground shanty town in my sourcebook, full of all the vices one would expect on the frontier. This includes a large brothel called Digger’s Delight. This is run by an all-women crime syndicate called the Red Lotus (which I introduced in the Core Rule book). Ironically, the name Rochan is actually a hindu name meaning “red lotus”.

Next, I hope to turn my attention to the Tor capital city . . .