Bantustan

Bantustan

Imperial Cartographer's Report

Galactic Location Outworld
Bantustan is located in disputed territory at the intersection of the Darikahn & Gonzagin Empires and the Karsan League. It is not a militarily nor economically major planet though, so it has not really been a scene of fighting.

Atmospheric Conditions Alien Life Supporting
Bantustan is a huge gas giant. The atmosphere is a chemical soup which doesn't support human life, but does support an ecosystem topped by sky whales with large wings. The atmosphere is generally cloudy and interfers with both sign and electronic signals. When lit by the lights of the floating cities or by internal electrical discharges, it is is a a swirling mix of reds, oranges and yellows. N.B. Because of how it interfers with signals and sensors, the cities are generally well protected from orbital bombardment.

Hydrology Predominantly Land
Well, gassious, but certainly not water.

Topography Artificial Environments
Floating cities, mansions and factory compounds. Some small platforms and cargo haulers are held up by gas bags (think dirigibles), but the big cities and factories have high-tech gravity engines which enable them to move (slowly) and provide local gravity.

Tech Index Low

Dominant Form of Government Imperial Stewardship
The Viceroy who rules from an orbital space station. The bureacracy provides jobs for many of the gentry. Mostly the Viceroy is not personally involved in planetary affairs leaving that to the bureacracy and the Lords-Pilot.

Factions Heavily Factionalized
Alien life forms, Criminal, Cult Churches (Worship of the Next Incarnation), Kerrn, Psychologist, Slaves & Serf (think Victorian wage slaves and lower classes, not chattel slavery)

Predominant Military Lords-Pilot
Bantustan is mostly not a militarized world. Hammer fleets off somewhere else fight the Wars of Empire. The Gentry do maintain some Anvil forces on planet and they are the de facto dominant military. Some of these units are recruiting arms of mercanary troops maintained by wealthy members of the Gentry. Others are honor guards, military police for the enforcement of economic regulations or even essentially social clubs for young bucks.

Planetary Attitude towards Vaylen Indifferent
Commerce, society, correct behavior, etc. are all much more in the minds of the Gentry than any worm invasions in the distant fringe worlds. And the lower classes don't really have time or energy to worry about such things.

Primary Industry Refined Goods
Some manufacturing that uses the chemicals from the atmosphere and sometimes the pressures available deep in the planet. Also some pharmaceuticals processed from the alien life.

Level of Quarantine Advanced

Level of Regulation Tightly Regulated
Regulated good:

(level 1) Marriage

(level 2) Pharmaceuticals & power/infrastructure

(level 3) Psychology, Military Manufacture & Immigrant Labor

Disposition Totals

Initial Totals
Human: Infiltration 24 / Usurpation 21 / Invasion 25
Vaylen: Infiltration 25 / Usurpation 32 / Invasion 24

Infiltration FoN rolls
Gorey rolled 8d (Smuggling with forks from Streetwise and Regulation-wise) for 4 sucesses. Marist rolled 8d (Psychology with forks from Bureacracy and Criminal-wise) for 4 suceses.

Phase I initial totals H28/V29

Current Totals: Human 28 / Vaylen 29

Major Characters

Lord-Pilot Gorey Conner

Wealthy financier and "ex-" pirate. Vaylen infiltration-phase FoN

Justicar Vienne

Hard-nosed law-and-order Justicar out to keep society stable. Vaylen usurpation-phase FoN

Hammer Lord Shoyan Ashpool

Famous retired naval hero. Reclusive patriarch. Vaylen sleeper agent. Vaylen invasion-phase FoN

Anvil Lord Alexus Hitton

Young society lord. Organizes the Bantustan recruiting efforts for the Hitton Hussars, a mercanary unit run by his family and active in the Wars of Empire.

Vrelt, brother of Kahzahr

Kerrn who works with and for the Gentry. Brother of the firey rebel leader.

Major Institutions

Some of these are mechanically factions, but mostly they are just some of the major or characteristic institutions of the planet.

Law Enforcement

On the various floating cities the aim of the law is not to protect the mass of citizenry but to protect the property of the Court and nobility. After all reason the courts, it is they who own the floating cities and any damage to their property damages the health of the city and hence the lives of the people living in it. Protection of property must therefore be paramount. In practice the nobility are protected from most harm by being able to seal themselves away from the masses. The cities rely on a few key pieces of high technology which are equally protected by the armed forces of the nobility and where needed the Hammer and Anvil. Damage to the infrastructure of the cities does little to threaten their overall health or stability as long as the anti-grav generators still work.

This means that there is little interest in a police force. Instead it is left to the local nobility in each city to enforce the law as they see most fit. In some cities this means leaving the proles to sort it out themselves, in others an armed watch who regularly sweep and clear up the main trouble. In addition the Steward has power to create constables and justiciars. These individuals either buy their position from him/her or are directly appointed as political allies of the Steward. They have a wide ranging brief to enforce the Steward's laws and protect the established order but there is little oversight of them. Ostensibly justiciars oversee constables and are also more likely to be able to requisition Hammer and Anvil forces directly, while constables are more likely to be restricted to the local nobility and even then that request may be refused. Obviously the wide ranging powers and lack of oversight means these posts are open to corruption and misuse.

Or, from a less cynical point of view, law enforcement is the perview of the Justicars appointed by the Viceroy. Each Justicar has a stable of Constables -- who are appointed separately from the Justicars to keep an element of balance -- who report to them. In some ways, the Justicars are both the section heads of criminal investigation and the Judges, while the Constables are prosecuting attorneys and head detectives. Each of the offices generally keep a small staff around -- paid for out of their own pocket as a public service. Petty crime is technically in the jurisdiction of the Constables, but is generally left out of the formal system. It is not so much that the system is corrupt as that there are simply too few people willing and trained to cover law enforcement for the whole planet, so only major crimes get much official attention.