Ah, Dune. Good series, been a while since I read it.

"Let us not rail about justice as long as we have arms and the freedom to use them"
               - Duke Leto Atreides

“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”
- from The Sayings of Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:42, Fri 30 May 2014.

"Struggle is the father of all things. It is not by the principles of humanity that man lives or is able to preserve himself above the animal world, but solely by means of the most brutal struggle"
- Adolf Hitler

I *smell* you so much. *Campers* are pleasant.
You are coming again to the *playground*.
We can have extra *fun* for future *parties* in *quick time*.

Gurati felt the age old compulsions,
And knew that regardless of how much he might try to resist,
Resistance is Futile.

"The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience."

~ Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam to Paul Atreides ~

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct...

I haven't got any clever sayings, sadly

You are beautiful and wise, m'lady.
Need you be more?

Mine quip and tongue only attempt to draw attention from your radiance,
For I own no other value.

In reply to Baron Gurati (msg # 469):

You're going to make me blush, Baron Guranti.

I certainly hope so.

Do not be trapped by the need to achieve anything. This way, you achieve everything.

"The universe did not invent justice. Man did. Unfortunately, man must reside in the universe."
- Roger Zelazny, The Dream Master

"Tell me what you like girl, tell me what you don't. I could be your Buzz Lightyear, fly across the globe."
        ~ Baron Bieber

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I WILL CONSUME THEIR WORTHLESS SOULS,
AND THROW THEIR LIVES AND BODIES
UPON THE PILE OF MY WRETCHED NEGLECT!

mmm.

I've done some work on the EMPOREX RPG! :) also, I think I migh run a new installment of Emporex here soonish.

Don't tease!

just wait. some writeup coming later. Psychic powers are ripped from Obsidian.

Emporex RPG

Mystics
Any magic is indistinguishable from sufficiently advanced technology.
Artorius K. Clericus
During the aeon long history of Mankind, there have been a number of technological near-singularities. Man has been unable to break through to the other side of whatever lies beyond that horizon, but something started to trickle back from Beyond. The first to notice it were adepts of Technoligion, who internalized a great deal of the most advanced technologies. Talent, training, and force of will are enough to duplicate the effect of any technology. In fact, it is impossible to know if such an effect is not actual technology. Carried by such thoughts, tech-adepts named persons able to use this effect Mystics.
Mystics are extraordinarily rare in most populations, and only about one in a million is born with any sort of Mystical affinity. The most powerful, omega capable, are as rare as one in a billion.

Religion
Human happiness is found either in drugs or in religion. There is no third option.
Churl Aris
There is a myriad religions permeating mankind as a whole. Wherever there is a large congregation, they flourish and change people, for good or worse.
Two religions have grown large and bloated enough to be present on almost any inhabited world.
The Technoligion preaches sancticity of technology. Since ages long past it advocated the purity of metal and glass. Once responsible for every technological advance, the technopriests have since turned into simple caretakers, devoid of inspiration or curiosity.
The Discordian Heretics are a vibrant bunch of psychotics who are out to achieve enlightenment by any and all ways that might spring at them. As factitious as possible while still being a single organization, their single common goal is simply enlightenment. Most common people refuse having to do anything with a known Discordian.
Another popular movement is the Church of Stimulus, worshiping a fourfold pantheon of Caffeine, Nicotine, Amphetamine, and Alcohol. The fifth, unnamed god, is said to be too relaxed about acquiring a title.

Slavery
Rigr’s three sons, the swarthy Thrall, the able Karl, and the fair Earl. How I wish Thrall wasn’t mine.
debtor-slave Anonymous
Very few people are truly free. Much of humanity toils endlessly to repay the debts of prior generations of their families. Those in power see to it that those debts are never repaid, and keep populations of whole worlds under their thumbs.

Space travel
The effort required to bring something to another planet grows exponentially with its mass. As a result, spaceships are either extremely small or very large. Most individual travel is done by suit-sized spaceships. The largest spaceships are city-sized. Fights between spaceships happen rarely, if at all. Within the Imperium, however, travel is done by wormgates. As long as mass coming in is the same as mass going out, these marvels alow instantaneous travel between two points , merging the planets of the Imperium into a single living, breathing mass.

The Imperium
Much of Mankind lives on hive-worlds connected by wormhole gates, milling about like cyber-enhanced ants. The average human pays a hefty price for twelve hours of leisure time per day. Few ever manage to crawl out of the planet-spanning multistory cities, or look up from the entertainments injected directly into the brain to wonder about the purpose of life.
At the head of the Imperium is the Golden Emperor. He has held the reins for over a thousand years. Countless wars and intrigues left barely a mark on him, and he still looks barely a day older than forty. Nobody makes the mistake of angering him.

Imperial Army
General Khor is a noted duelist and the official head of the billion-strong imperial armed forces. He is a model leader and a close confidante of the Emperor. His loyalty seems unshakable on the outside. Under his leadership the Army is nothing but exemplary. Strict adherence to procedure, extensive rewards for competence and liberal education for the underachieving are omnipresent. He also makes sure to look after his soldiers on a more personal level, as well as taking care of eventual widows.

Sisteria
A semi-monastic order with exclusively female membership, these subdued seeming women nevertheless manage to steer events on a grand scale. Rumored to be powerful Mystics to a member, the common folk call them Witches – but only when their backs are turned, of course. The one rock the flood of their influence has been unable to move for the past millennium is the Emperor. Nevertheless, even he had to acknowledge the Witches’ power, allowing them free passage on imperial ships, and presence at court. The current head of Sisteria is an ancient crone prone to disappearance. The Order is far from direction-less, however, as it continues to expand its influence.

Emperor’s Daughters
The Emperor has no sons. The last one died a century ago under unclear circumstances, possibly involving attempted rebellion. The number of his daughters is difficult to estimate, as he has been changing consorts for a thousand years. They all inherited their father’s good looks, sharp intelligence, and complete lack of morals. These women form a power within the Imperium that can’t be ignored.

Mercenary Guild
Sellswords have been banding together into organizations for mutual protection and increased profit since the dawn of time. New technologies

Assassins Guild
While the activities of mercenaries are fairly open and well known, their shady counterpart (sometimes known as the Dark Brotherhood) is difficult to find and even more difficult to hire. Their

Weapon Merchants

Imperial Navy
sustaining the Empire for as long as it has existed. The real danger is not military or mystical - it is the distance between plaents. The advent of the WorldNet has lessened the importance of the Navy in the core worlds somewhat.

Spacing Guild
retired Navy personnel, hereditary spaceship captains and imperial academy dropouts all find a niche apropriate for their skills here. Those skilled in intrigue are as welcome as thos killed in logistics and navigation. To say that the spacing guild has a diverse set of interests would be an understatement. Guild Master Nosovo is a powerful psyker, and has been steering the Guild for half a milennium.

Church of Mankind
The organized worship of technology started in a long lost age. The current Church perpetuates the ancient rites, and is steeped in protocol and rigid conservative thinking. Many of the most powerful technomystics are orthodox members. The Technopope's identity is a scret, and when appearing in public powerful shields prevent anyone from seeing

Mercantile Consortium

Brotherhood of Machines

Galactic Inquisition
Inquisitor Travis

Black Market Smugglers
Crime Lord

Imperial Secret Police

Imperial Senate
The senate gathers representatives af all noble houses. It wields considerable power in that it can veto most measures brought forward by the Emperor and his administration. Senator Vahn has been the Senate leader for a considerable amoutn of years and assassination attempts. Were things somehow different, it would be him sitting on the throne, and he never lets anyone forget that.

Colonial Council
The same kind of power the Senate excercises over the worlds of the Imperium, the Colonial council holds bezod its edges. There are a hundred times more worlds yet unclaimed by the imperium, and the Council's agents work tirelessly to bring them al back under the Imperium's protective cloak.

5th Sector Rebels
Some worlds are less than thrilled by the

Surgeons of Silex
Paswa Silexian Demagogue (Duelist/ Assassination)

Imperial Beaurocracy

"Death is the only god that comes when you call"
             - 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai (1985)

It has been a long time, Baron

                *the Baron's heart swoons ... so much he barely manages to remain standing, or to speak legibly*


"Mine Enemy, how cold and cruel you have grown",  'Just let me fall at your feet and worship you forever'

*Curtsies* Perhaps we can be friendlier this time around.

“Never!   The people of th Gurati Empire will never submit to your tyranic rule!”
                   ’but take to your chambers, and beat me like a slave, my heart’s desire’