Torpedoes

The History of
Silent Death
The first edition of
Silent Death was
published in 1990. As
Kevin Barret related in
his designer notes for
the original rules, this
game was inspired by
Star Strike, “an involved
simulation of
space combat which
handled everything
from fighter sweeps to
cruiser actions.” Star
Strike was in turn
inspired by Space
Master, Iron Crown
Enterprises’ science
fiction roleplaying
game. The Space Master
system was developed
from the system
for Rolemaster, ICE’s
fantasy roleplaying
game.
There were three
supplements for the
original edition of
Silent Death. Overkill
was the first, and it
introduced players to
the Ptolemean Wars, a
conflict between House
Ptolemus, House Colos
and the minor House
Dneprodzerkutsk.
8
out the Empire. Unfortunately, natural environments
which could be readily settled
by humans proved elusive. However, many
borderline worlds were terraformed to suit
human life.
The Empire was divided into numerous
regions, each ruled from a regional capital.
Each region was subdivided into quadrants,
of which there were usually four.
Quadrants were further divided into four
or more sectors, each of which may have
contained up to ten habitation sites or
more. Despite its fall, the Empire left its
mark permanently on Terran space, and for
convenience’s sake, many of these designations
are still employed to this day.
The Empire discovered sentient races on
several of the worlds it colonized. Though
most were humanoid, others turned out to
be truly alien in nature. These “aliens” were
either assimilated into human culture,
moved to designated reservations or, in
some sad cases, systematically exterminated.
A select few races (Inheritors, Morphs
and Suls being the most prominent
examples) actually managed to attain Minor
Clan status.
The Provinces
The borders of the Empire were vague,
as the Imperial systems tended to be interspersed
with the frontier domains. As a rule
of thumb, the Empire encompassed a
sphere about 500 light years out from Old
Earth, although there were exceptions. The
level of space flight and communications
technology being what they were, 500 light
years represented the logistical limit of the
Empire’s centralized control.
Although the tachyon beam dictor is an
instantaneous communications device, its
effective range is only about 40 light years.
Truly long-distance communication using
the TBD requires an extensive network of
costly and vulnerable tachyon beam relay
stations.
Accepting the limitations of his sphere
of control, the first Emperor instituted a
method of indirect control of his outlying
systems. The Imperial Lend Leasing Act
inaugurated a number of provincial territories,
each of which was assigned to a government
faithful to the Empire. Though
each province had its own unique set of
laws, they each implemented Imperial
edicts in a general sense, allowing these
feudal territories to serve as tendrilous extensions
of the Empire’s power.
Provincial territories were rare close to
the Imperial core. Most of them were scattered
on the fringes of known space. Those
that fell within the bounds of the Empire’s
sphere of influence were known as Inner
Provinces, while those newer territories
that were carved out of the frontier were
called Outer Provinces. In the Empire’s fi-