Lore and Tech

Well I'm thinking of making Saturday my weekly update day so while I continue to work on the rules and such I thought I'd share my initial thoughts for the lore and tech that this game is going to be based on. It may seem a little odd to include lore in a card game but I have become very used to including lore in everything I do. My primary creative outlet is fiction writing you see so I find it difficult to do anything creative without makign up a story to go with it.

Anyway here is what I've got so far. I've also included a little bit on some of the ingame tech that will be making appearences.

Lore

The Arcasia system. Eight planets locked in a violent power struggle. What started as the discovery that would revolutionise their way of living became a red stain that pathed the way for war. At the turn of the century the Arcasian Empire was on the verge of total collapse. Natural resources had almost been expended and the empire’s failing solar battery technology was reaching the end of its life.

The discovery of a mysterious compound material, later to be called Panacite, brought new hope to the empire. The material had unique energy properties and when fully refined was harder than any currently used building material. When vapourised it produced more energy than a nuclear reactor.

For a time the condition of the empire settled. New technologies were created and the way of life gradually began to increase. Then the coup happened. All sides of the empire began to think that they should be in charge. Buoyed by the sudden power Panacite had given them the empire fractured and broke. Fighting erupted in every corner of the system. Admirals of huge battle fleets went rogue. Lords in charge or planetary defence fleets turned their guns against those they should have been protecting.

The war has since escalated into a series of massive skirmishes but as of yet no one has proven more than a match for anyone else. Nobody knows who has the moral high ground any more but everyone knows one thing, the war will only extinguish itself in blood.

Technology

Panacite

Much of the technology present in the Arcasia system is based on research done on the material Panacite. This material was discovered by accident in an asteroid field on the fringe of the system but has since been found in remote pockets all over the system, normally on barren moons and other celestial bodies.

Panacite is a unique compound that scientists have found impossible to duplicate. Its chemical composition is simple but how it reached its current state is unknown. Some religious groups have called it a gift from the Divines...but most refer to it as the work of the Devil due to the bloodshed it has brought.

When smelted it creates a very tough metal with unique energy refracting properties. It quickly became a principle building material in all things including armour plating for ships.

It was also found that when the material was vaporised and fed into a heated chamber it created a massive burst of energy. This in turn led to the creation of the panacite reactor, the main power source throughout the system, and later to the creation of energy weapons.

Panacite is still considered a rare material despite its continuous discovery across the system. So much so in fact that the war, from its early beginnings as a push for power, has now become a war over the material itself.

Railgun Tech

Railguns have been common place in the Arcasia system for many years but it was not intensively used due to the manufacturing costs. With the discovery of panacite though they quickly became wide spread. It was discovered quickly that small arms and ballistic type weapons had little to no effect on panacite armour plating and only the puncturing power of a railgun could breach it.

The technology exists in two forms; linear guns and railguns. Linear guns are small scale rail weapons that fire much smaller rounds than their bigger cousins. They are commonly fitted to smaller vessels that lack the hull integrity to absorb the recoil of a railgun firing or used by larger ships as a close range defence mechanism.

Railguns and heavy railguns are commonly found on larger ships and are primarily used for anti mid to large ship combat. The size of the heavy railgun gives it the added bonus of being able to puncture ship armour with ease making them a weapon of choice on any ship capable of mounting it.

Energy Weapon Tech & Shields

These technologies have been used in the Arcasia system for many years and it is debated which came first. It is likely that shield technology was the first to gain significant ground and was originally used as a method of protecting ships from the harsh environments on some of Arcasia’s gas giants. Since the discovery of panacite shielding technology has taken on new meaning. With the push into railgun technology it became apparent that a way of protecting ships and colonies from these massive guns was needed.

Shields took on a new defence meaning soon after but other technology was still being developed. The unique energy refracting properties of panacite meant that significant inroads into energy weapon technology was made. At first it was simply small hand weapons but soon battleship sized energy cannons were being produced. These weapons quickly became a mainstream way of dealing with shielding technology, the energy refracting nature of panacite creating blasts that dispersed shields with ease.