Technology

Fusion Power

Mastiffs, like most modern ships, rely on Gen-II reactors. A few Gen-Is still putter about, especially among the Fringe in the Drift. Gen-III reactors are experimental, and their fuel type is classified.

Propulsion

Inertial dampeners do not exist — you feel exactly what the ship pulls. Artificial gravity is mature and doesn't require rotation, but it's disabled for hard maneuvers.

Interstellar Travel

Independent faster-than-light (FTL) travel averages roughly one light-year per five days along established corridors. During transit, external sensors go dark, gravity can fluctuate, and nausea, vivid dreams, and temporal disorientation are common — some travelers report seeing strange things on scopes and viewports. No instantaneous communication exists; since Khepri, mail and data physically ride the Core Runs.

Fabrication

Fabrication needs a 3D-printing machine, the feedstock (material), the blueprint, and a product license. Missing any one stops the job cold. What you can print depends on its tier:

• Tier 0 — Utility: Clothing, household parts
• Tier 1 — Industrial: Tools, electronics
• Tier 2 — Restricted: Firearms, armor, breaching gear
• Tier 3 — Strategic: Heavy weapons, cybernetics, reactor components
• Tier 4 — Controlled Systems: Strategic military systems, advanced biotech

Weapons

Chemical firearms are cheap and everywhere. Coilguns — electromagnetic, high velocity — are standard Navy and Aegis issue. Railguns are older but still common on rugged platforms; older doesn't mean obsolete. Regulated weapons use biometric locks: a dead license holder's gun locks out to others instantly, though OCA and Aegis combat teams have exceptions.

Personal Equipment

Vac suits are for boarding, EVA, and hazardous environments. Combat armor trades mobility for protection — armor improves one's chances of survival; it doesn't guarantee it. Recon drones are available to OCA specialists and Hound teams — handling optical/thermal imaging and mapping, and are deployed situationally.

Droids & Androids

Droids are task-bound machines — no human-derived architecture, no personality. Androids are different: built from synthesized neural architecture derived from thousands of human neural images. New androids have no memories, and their personality is shaped by how they're treated.

Androids operate under the Sapient Systems Safeguard — Preservation, Restraint, Agency, Judgment — but the Safeguard isn't infallible. Persistent rumors suggest some androids (especially Helix models) can be made to weigh a mission objective over human life. Officially, every such incident has been due to "damaged hardware" or "operator error."

Vantage Dynamics makes premium androids — ship androids, medical assistants, and more. They are nearly indistinguishable from humans up close. Helix's line is cheaper and easier to spot: stiffer movement, more obvious tells. Every legal android carries a manufacturer's mark at the base of their neck; an unmarked or scrubbed one is an immediate red flag.

Odysseus grants androids limited personhood rights unusual for the Core: protection from destruction without cause, and the right to refuse a Safeguard-violating order. Like their counterparts in other systems, androids in Odysseus still can't vote, hold independent contracts, or marry.

Cloning & Neural Continuity

Cloning exists. It isn't immortality. A genetic duplicate isn't automatically the same person as the original, and neural restoration — loading a recorded mind into a new body — only creates the appearance of continuity. Repeated restoration of memories causes Iterative Neural Degradation, or "ghosting": fragmented memories, personality drift, and in severe cases, profound instability and psychosis. The only documented cases have been foolhardy oligarchs of the past, trying vainly to chase immortality. Even with all their advancements and amazing tech, death is the one thing Vantage Dynamics can't solve.

The Mastiff-Class Pursuit Vessel

A Mastiff carries a fireteam of four to six, plus a pilot, an optional android, and an engineer once hired on — up to nine at full strength, though seven total is the typical headcount.

Specifications

• Reactor: Gen-II D-He3 fusion
• Independent FTL: No — needs transport/support between systems
• STG use: Yes
• ITG use: No
• Artificial gravity: Yes
• Autodoc: Optional
• Ship android: Optional
• VTOL: Yes — vectored thrust for vertical landing/hover
• Docking: Belly-in; full rear drop-ramp doubles as boarding/cargo access
• Pods: 4 × two-person multipurpose (insertion/boarding/escape)
• Spinal weapon: No
• Point-defense guns: 4 × rotary autocannon ("Vulcans") — standard defensive armament, all-aspect coverage
• Hardpoints: 4 max, 2 filled at commission: light missile launcher, autocannon
• Upgrades: 2 max; baseline VTOL and sensor suite included

Burn Profiles

Contents

1. The Setting — outlines the Six Systems and notable historical events.
2. Factions — details the major players in the Odysseus System and what they want.
3. The Odysseus System — a breakdown of the Odysseus system, where the players will find themselves.
4. Technology & Equipment — details technology, items, and equipment found in the setting.
5. Life as a Hound — a breakdown of Jaeger Division, the threats you'll face, and your team.

← The Odysseus System · Player's Guide · Next: Life as a Hound →