Pact Worlds

Pact Worlds

(Nation)

Region

Near Space

Capital

Absalom Station

Ruler

Pact Council

Government

Confederation

Adjective

Pact

Languages

Common

Images of Pact Worlds

Source: Core Rulebook, pg(s). 428

This article covers the governmental entity. For the solar system, see Pact Worlds system. For the Starfinder Roleplaying Game sourcebook, see Pact Worlds (sourcebook).

The Pact Worlds is a coalition of independent governments and associations within the Pact Worlds system (known also as the Golarion system after the planet lost to memory during the Gap) that is bound together for mutual protection and trade. It was formed in 41 AG with the signing of the Absalom Pact in response to the Veskarium's aggression toward the Golarion system, and has continued for nearly 300 years to provide mutual protection from hostile forces, and facilitate interplanetary trade and law enforcement.

Members

See also: Category:Pact Worlds/Members and Category:Pact Worlds/Protectorates

The Pact Worlds.

All planets in the Pact Worlds system are members, though not all are considered full members with voting representatives. With few exceptions, such as independent Arkanen, moons are considered part of their parent planet. Planets and bodies with limited civilization, such as Aucturn and Liavara, are considered protectorates with non-voting representatives and limited autonomy. Two non-planets have also gained full member status: Absalom Station, one of the Pact's founding members, and the kasathan worldship Idari.

Non-governmental organizations

While corporations and religious organizations are not full members, many actively lobby and advocate their causes to voting members. The Aspis Consortium is a unique exception to this restriction; the Pact Worlds government granted the Aspis Consortium status approaching that of a Pact World for actions against the Swarm when they first attacked the Pact Worlds. Though not allowed to vote, the Consortium is recognized as a self-governing entity, its holdings on various worlds seen as embassies and its agents largely granted diplomatic immunity within other worlds' jurisdictions.

Current membership

The following list details the current membership or protectorate status of entities in the Pact Worlds organization. Unless otherwise noted, a planet's moons are not considered seperate political entities.

• Sun - Protectorate, held in common by Pact Worlds members
  • Sun's Burning Archipelago region - Protectorate, independent and self-governing
• Aballon - Member
• Castrovel - Member
• Absalom Station - Member
• Akiton - Member
• Verces - Member
• The kasathan worldship Idari - Member
• The Diaspora (Sarcesian) - Protectorate, self-governing
• Eox - Member
• Triaxus - Member
• Liavara - Protectorate, administered exclusively by Bretheda
  • Arkanen - Member (independent of protectorate administered by Bretheda)
  • Osoro - Member (independent of protectorate administered by Bretheda)
  • Nchak - Protectorate (independent of protectorate administered by Bretheda)
• Bretheda - Member
  • Kalo-Mahoi - Member (independent of Bretheda)
  • Marata - Protectorate (independent of Bretheda)
• Apostae - Member
• Aucturn - Protectorate, self-governed by Carsai the King
• Aspis Consortium - Recognized as self-governing entity

History

See also: Absalom Pact

Before the Triune broadcast its Signal carrying the plans for Drift engine technology galaxy-wide in 3 AG, the worlds of the Golarion system were still dealing with the aftermath of their emergence from the universal amnesia of the Gap.

The Absalom Pact (known more commonly as just the Pact) was created in 41 AG, five years after the Battle of Aledra, a vesk ambush of the Triaxian city of Aledra. Concerned that the disparate worlds of the Golarion System could not defend itself against the Veskarium, officials from Absalom Station, Castrovel, and Verces proposed a system-wide alliance based on Verces's multilateral Ring of Nations government. Eox quickly agreed to the plan (with one major exception see below), and the remaining worlds soon fell in line. The Pact Worlds and the Veskarium remained each other's greatest threat for the next 250 years, battling in small skirmishes over planets outside either of their direct controls, or fighting larger battles on the edges of their territories in what became known as the Silent War.

Dissenters

Not everyone in the Golarion system was happy with the signing of the Absalom Pact and the creation of a system-wide confederation. Several admirals in Eox's powerful navy, still fuming after their defeat in the Magefire Assault of 7 AG, refused to subordinate themselves to and protect "soft and fragile" living creatures. They attempted to seize control of several key Eoxian settlements as well as the Sentinel, an ancient battle satellite, and staged an unsuccessful coup against the bone sages. Those who were not killed or captured fled the system to become the Corpse Fleet, a dangerous military force that continues to threaten the destruction of all life in the Pact Worlds until this day.

New arrivals

Despite the ongoing war with the Veskarium, new sentient species were constantly encountered by Pact Worlds explorers visiting previously unknown systems using their new Drift engine technology, or else the new species ventured into the Golarion system using their own vessels. Most such species had their own homeworlds in Near Space or the Vast, but others migrated permanently to the Pact Worlds. One such species were the peaceful shirrens who arrived in 83 AG and quickly settled on a number of the planets in-system. Centuries later, the kasathas arrived in their worldship Idari in 240 AG.

There were several major developments within the Pact Worlds during this time as well. Androids, who had formerly been considered property without individual rights, were granted full citizenship in 154 AG. Additionally, worshipers of the goddess Sarenrae discovered a set of empty bubble-cities on the Sun in 223 AG known as the Burning Archipelago. Finally, shirren diplomats concluded historic peace negotiations between the lashunta and formian inhabitants of Castrovel in 287 AG, a conflict that had been going no for millennia.

Attack of the Swarm

The ongoing Silent War between the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium changed forever when the Swarm attacked both systems simultaneously in 291 AG. Faced with an outside enemy that neither side could defeat on their own, the two governments negotiated a ceasefire and an eventual alliance, and together were able to force the Swarm out of their regions of space. With the Swarm defeated, the two former antagonists continued their peaceful interactions and began to trade with one another while realizing that the good relations could potentially fall apart at any time.

Government

Each world in the Pact retains its own independent government that is free to make its own decisions within its own borders, making the Pact Worlds a confederation rather than a fully unified system government. Nevertheless, members must adhere to certain basic principles that promote unity and peace, encourage trade, and guarantee certain basic rights to all of its inhabitants.

Powers and enforcement

The Pact grants some rights universally to sentient beings, and additional rights to citizens of the Pact Worlds, but other matters of law are left to its members to manage. The Pact's members ultimately retain their sovereignty.

Trade

The Pact Worlds system is a magnet for trade due to the unique power of the Starstone, which acts as an ultra-powerful Drift beacon, allowing ships to travel there from vast distances.

Defense

The Pact mandates mutual defense of the Pact Worlds against extrasolar threats.

Law enforcement

While local laws are enforced by governments on member planets, criminals who have fled local jurisdictions are hunted down by contractors paid by the Stewards, who also serve as diplomats between the member governments.

Pact Council

The Pact Council, based in the enormous senatorial building known as the Plenara on Absalom Station, is a representative council that makes decisions that affect all member-states. The delegates are allocated proportionally by each member's sentient population, and each representative receives a single vote. Most decisons are made by simple majority. The Directorate, a body of five elected Pact Council representatives who are chosen from the Pact Council, hold two-year terms, and decide issues that the council is unable to pass due to legislative deadlock or which require expedient decision-making. No member-state may have more than two members on the Directorate at the same time, and Directorate members may serve no more than three terms. The Director-General of the Stewards is an unelected sixth member of the Directorate. They have no term limits and act as an advisor to the other members of the Directorate.

Extrasolar protectorates

The government's authority generally is considered to reach to the edge of the system's heliopause and it claims no authority over worlds outside of the Pact Worlds system unless they request it and are granted protectorate status by the members. The number of these extrasolar protectorates is quite small, in no small part due to the Pact Worlds government's worry of overextending themselves in case there is another invasion. Pact Worlds citizens living outside of the protection of their governments are therefore encouraged to hire forces such as the Skyfire Legion, the Hellknights, or the Knights of Golarion to help in their defense.

Economy

With the exceptions of certain areas of Aballon and Verces, the members of the Pact Worlds manage their economies via the system of capitalism. This means that everyone must earn wealth through labor or investment in order to pay for basic necessities and luxeries, or else possess enough wealth that they do not need to work. While some local governments, like that of Absalom Station, spend enough on social services to ensure that no sentient being is unhoused or goes hungry, others do not afford people that luxury.

Currencies

The Pact Worlds' standard form of currency is the credit, although various locales do have other forms of money that are used for local trade. Any interplanetary trade is conducted in credits, however, and the currency has become so popular that some systems outside the Pact Worlds now use it as well. Large, respectable businesses store their credits digitally in AbadarCorp-approved banks that are protected from hacking by the latest technology and magic. Since any bank-to-bank transaction is logged and often comes with a fee, those wishing to circumvent this added expense or oversight use a credstick instead.

A secondary form of currency frequently used are UPBs, or universal polymer bases. These are small physical components that can be combined not only to create electronics, but also many other forms of equipment including chemicals, fabrics, weapons, or armor. The value of the UPB is tied to the credit, so that 1 UPB is always worth 1 credit. The use of UPBs is more common in places far from the centers of Pact Worlds culture.

Culture

The planets of the Pact Worlds do not have an overarching or dominant culture, being a collection of dozens of diverse civilizations. Even though travel and migration between Pact Worlds members is common, most folk hang on to their native culture and traditions on new planets even when this causes friction. This discomfort (that can occasionally grow into outright conflict) is tolerated for the sake of promoting a tolerance that encourages open trade amongst all the member states. It is this live-and-let-live attitude that is perhaps the Pact Worlds' only universal tradition.

Religion

The worship of many gods or philosophies is common in the Pact Worlds, and a single god is often honored amongst countless different species and cultures. Religious organizations play an important part in the lives of many, and while disagreements and conflict between them does occur, it generally happens outside of the public eye.

Arts & entertainment

Cultural and artistic trends come and go in the Pact Worlds, and what is hot one day can quickly become dated and cringe by the next. While specific forms of art and entertainment are often culture-specific, most citizens enjoy music, virtual-reality games, and holovid broadcasts to relax and take their minds of their day-to-day concerns.